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NEWS
RELEASE
TAKING BACK UNWANTED PRESCRIPTION
Event will take place from 10 am- 2 pm
on Saturday, April 29th.
ISLAND
COUNTY SHERIFF OFFICE – 5521 E. HARBOR ROAD
FREELAND,
WA.
COUPEVILLE
MARSHALS OFFICE – CITY HALL, 4 N.E. SEVENTH STREET, COUPEVILLE, WA.
COUPEVILLE, WA– On Saturday, April 29, from
10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the above agencies and the Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA) will give the public its 13th opportunity in 7 years to prevent pill
abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired,
unused, and unwanted prescription drugs.
Bring your pills for disposal to any of the above sites. (The DEA cannot accept liquids or needles or
sharps, only pills or patches.) The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
Last October, Americans
turned in 366 tons (over 730,000 pounds) of prescription drugs at almost 5,200 sites
operated by the DEA and more than 4,000 of its state and local law enforcement
partners. Overall, in its 12 previous
Take Back events, DEA and its partners have taken in over 7.1 million
pounds—more than 3,500 tons—of pills.
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,
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.
For more information about
the disposal of prescription drugs or about the April 29 Take Back Day event,
go to the DEA
Diversion website
NOTE: Due
to the Holland Happening Parade on April 29, 2017, the Oak Harbor Police
Department (860 SE Barrington Drive) will not be able to participate in this
year’s drug take back program. The
Police Department DOES, however, maintain a 24/7 secure “drop box” at their
office available throughout the year for walk-in drug disposal. dy text here.
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