The Sugar Land Police Department is partnering with the Drug Enforcement Administration and agencies across the country for the first-ever Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on Sept. 25, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Mercer Stadium, 16403 Lexington Blvd.
The DEA will collect potentially dangerous, expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs for destruction at sites nationwide on Sept. 25. The service is free and anonymous – no questions asked.
Many people are not aware that medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States are increasing at alarming rates, 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, many Americans do not know how to properly dispose of their unused medicine, often flushing them down the toilet or throwing them away – both potential safety and health hazards.
“Working together with our state and local partners, the medical community, anti-drug coalitions, and a concerned public, we will eliminate a major source of abused prescription drugs, and reduce the hazard they pose to our families and communities in a safe, legal and environmentally sound way,” said Michele M. Leonhart, acting administrator of the DEA.
“Take-back events like this one are an indispensable tool for reducing the threat that the diversion and abuse of these drugs pose to public health,” said Director of National Drug Control Policy Gil Kerlikowske. “The federal, state and local collaboration represented in this initiative is key in our national efforts to reduce pharmaceutical drug diversion and abuse.”
Collection sites in every local community can be found by going to www.dea.gov. This site will be continuously updated with new take-back locations. Other participants in this initiative include the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy; the Partnership for a Drug-Free America; the International Association of Chiefs of Police; the National Association of Attorneys General; the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy; the Federation of State Medical Boards; and the National District Attorneys Association.
For more information, visit www.justice.gov/dea/index.htm.
