DEA HOSTS ITS SIXTH STATEWIDE PRESCRIPTION DRUG
TAKE-BACK DAY
APRIL 27 AS PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
CONTINUES TO RISE
Take-Back Day to help residents clean out
their medicine cabinets of old,
unwanted, potentially harmful drugs
PHOENIX – With public participation at an all-time
high after five prior events in two years, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and
its state, local, tribal, and community partners will hold a sixth Prescription
Drug Take-Back Day across the state on Saturday, April 27th. Collection sites are open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
local time. The service is free and
anonymous, no questions asked.
Quartzsite residents can participate be dropping off their expired, unused, or unwanted prescription drugs to the Quartzsite Police Department between 10-2pm on Saturday.
The Quartzsite Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition (QSAPC) has brought substance abuse awareness to the community on a wider scale than had ever been present in prior years. With members from local Civic and Community Leaders through formalized training under SPF-SIG, the QSAPC began and remains committed to changing local conditions that contribute to substance abuse. To learn more visit http://www.ci.quartzsite.az.us/Qsapcoalition/Quartzsite_Coalition_Summary_Doc_2011-12.html
The public has embraced the opportunity these
Take-Back Day events provide to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their
homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, or unwanted prescription drugs.
“Arizonans responded overwhelmingly to DEA’s
five previous Take-Back Day events, disposing of over 35,000 pounds of
pharmaceutical drugs in the past two years, “said DEA Special Agent in Charge
Doug Coleman. “We know that young people
consider controlled-substance prescription drugs like Vicodin to be a safer way
to get high, but they couldn't be more wrong. By removing unwanted
prescription drugs from their homes, the public helps prevent experimentation,
addiction, overdose and even death.”
Unused
medications in homes create a public health and safety concern, because they
are highly susceptible to accidental ingestion, diversion, misuse, and
abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly
high--more Americans currently abuse prescription drugs than the number of
those using cocaine, hallucinogens, and heroin combined, according to the most recent National Survey on Drug Use
and Health. The majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from
family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet, according to
surveys of users.
The
public can find a nearby collection site by visiting www.dea.gov, clicking on the “Got
Drugs?” icon, and following the links to a database where they enter their zip
code. Only solid medicines may be turned in. No liquids, injectables or needles will be
accepted.
Four
days after DEA’s first Take-Back event 30 months ago, Congress passed the
Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, which amends the Controlled
Substances Act to allow an “ultimate user” of controlled substance medications
to dispose of them by delivering them to entities authorized by the Attorney
General to accept them. The Act also allows the Attorney General to authorize
long term care facilities to dispose of their residents’ controlled substances
in certain instances. DEA is in the process of drafting regulations to
implement the Act.
If you’re a parent, please
take the time to talk to your children about the harm caused by medicine abuse
and educate yourself on the signs of abuse.
Please visit DEA’s interactive website for further information, www.justthinktwice.com and www.GetSmartAboutDrugs.com.
