National prescription drug take-back day
Boulder County residents can drop off unwanted
prescription medication at drug collection events
Boulder County, Colo. - On Saturday, April 29 from 10 a.m.
to 2 p.m. the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office and the Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA) will give the public an opportunity to prevent pill abuse
and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused and
unwanted prescription drugs. The service is free and anonymous, no questions
asked.
Bring your pills for disposal to
the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office Headquarters, located at 5600 Flatiron
Parkway, Boulder and at the Lyons Substation, located at 432 5th Street, Lyons.
Items not accepted at this collection:
- Liquids
- Syringes
- Inhalers
- Chemotherapy drugs
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, disposing of unwanted medicines by
flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash, poses potential
safety and health hazards.
For more information about safely
disposing unwanted medication in Boulder County, including what to do with
liquid medication and syringes, go to the Boulder County Public Health website. Additional safe disposal
locations are available throughout Boulder County and regularly accept unused
and unwanted prescription drugs.
For more information about the
April 29 National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day event, go to the DEA Office of Diversion Control website.
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