Police will take back unwanted, old meds Posted by Kimberly Jacobson | Apr 11, 2012 | 178 views

The Anacortes, Burlington Mount Vernon, Swinomish, Sedro-Woolley police departments, the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration will give the public another opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs.

Bring your medications for disposal to your local police station. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 28.

Intravenous solutions, injectables, syringes and medical waste will not be accepted.

Last October, Americans turned in 377,080 pounds — 188.5 tons — of prescription drugs at more than 5,300 sites operated by the DEA and nearly 4,000 state and local law enforcement partners.

In its three previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners took in almost a million pounds — nearly 500 tons — of pills.

This initiative addresses a 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 — flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash — both pose potential safety and health hazards.