Attorney General Steve Marshall is urging Alabamians to participate in the DEA’s “Prescription Drug Take-Back Day” on Saturday, October 27, at various locations throughout the state.
This year’s event, which is the 16th annual DEA National Prescription Drug Take-Back, has approximately 50 collection sites scheduled to be available in Alabama on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
“Prescription Drug Take-Back is a valuable public service that protects our children, our homes and our environment,” Marshall said in a press release. “As a long-time prosecutor, I have too often witnessed the tragic results caused by the availability of dangerous controlled substances.”
He continued, “When prescription drugs are left in our homes, children and teenagers may be poisoned or fall prey to drug abuse and addiction. Your old medications can be a lure to criminals looking for drugs to use or sell. On Saturday, October 27, please take the opportunity to remove these hazards by bringing prescription drugs that are out-of-date or no longer needed to collection sites for their safe and proper disposal.”
The program is sponsored by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to combat the abuse or misuse of potentially dangerous medicines that have expired or are no longer needed for those whom these controlled substances were prescribed. Law enforcement officers will be present at the respective sites across the state to receive unused prescription drugs for safe and proper disposal.
Since the first take-back event in Alabama, which was in September 2010, the program has continued to increase in the amount of drugs collected. Throughout all of the state’s previous DEA Prescription Drug Take-Back events, a total of approximately 66,805 pounds of unwanted, unused or expired drugs have been removed and disposed of safely.
Deliveries of drugs to DEA Prescription Drug Take-Back Day events are confidential, with no personal information collected and no questions asked. Participants are encouraged to remove labels or black-out information beforehand.
The attorney general’s press release noted that many teenagers and young people who abuse prescription drugs get them from family and friends or from their home medicine cabinets. Prescription drugs pose dangers to children and others who may take them by accident or who may use them for abusive purposes. Expired drugs may have lost their effectiveness and therefore no longer be a safe and adequate treatment for the conditions for which they were prescribed.
In addition to concerns of potential poisoning, abuse or overdose, it also is important environmentally that medicines be disposed of in a proper manner rather than simply being thrown into garbage, flushed away or poured down drains, as they could contaminate water supplies and cause an environmental hazard.
People who wish to participate can find a location at the link here. If you do not find your area listed on the DEA website, you may check with your local law enforcement agencies to see if they may be participating in a take-back event.
Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
