On Saturday, April 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the Medford Police Department and the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration will give the public its eighth opportunity in three years to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. Bring your pills for disposal to the Medford Public Safety Building. This public service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
Last October, Americans turned in 324 tons of prescription drugs at over 4,114 sites operated by the DEA and its thousands of state and local law enforcement partners. When those results are combined with what was collected in its seven previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners have taken in over 3.4 million pounds of pills.
This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines both pose potential safety and health hazards.
According to DEA officials, “The abuse of pharmaceuticals is the second most abused drug, only marijuana ranks higher. This program alleviates this issue and will protect citizens from wrongfully obtaining the drugs and will prevent the drugs finding their way into our drinking water, etc.”
