With public participation at an all-time high after four prior events in two years, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Des Moines Police Department and other law enforcement agencies will hold a fifth National Prescription Drug Take Back Day at two local locations this Saturday, Sept. 29.
These ‘Take Back Days’ give the public the opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, or unwanted prescription drugs.
The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
Americans participating in DEA’s four previous Take-Back Days turned in nearly 1.6 million pounds—almost 774 tons—of prescription drugs, most recently at almost 5,700 sites operated by nearly 4,300 of the DEA’s local law enforcement partners. DEA’s last event collected more than double the pills as their first event two years ago, with almost 50% more participating agencies and sites this past April than in September of 2010.
Des Moines Police alone have collected nearly 950lbs of medication for safe disposal during the past four events!
Medicines that languish in home cabinets create a public health and safety concern because they are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high–more Americans currently abuse prescription drugs than the number of those using cocaine, hallucinogens, and heroin combined, according to the 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.
Four days after DEA’s first Take Back event two years ago, Congress passed the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, which amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow an “ultimate user” of controlled substance medications to dispose of them by delivering them to entities authorized by the Attorney General to accept them. The Act also allows the Attorney General to authorize long term care facilities to dispose of their residents’ controlled substances in certain instances. DEA is in the process of drafting regulations to implement the Act.
The Des Moines Police Department will be hosting two collection sites in the City of Des Moines at the following locations, during the specified times (look for the Des Moines Police Mobile Precinct):
Bartell Drugs – Parking Lot Bartell Drugs – Parking Lot
21615 Pacific Hwy South 27055 Pacific Hwy South
Des Moines, WA 98198 Des Moines, WA 98198
Collection Times: 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Collection Times: 2 p.m. – 6 p.m.
For additional collection sites or for information on the National Take-Back Initiative, click below:
You can also visit www.dea.gov or call 1-800-882-9539 for info.
Visit www.desmoineswa.gov/
