National Drug Take Back Day this Saturday

Guest — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:49:08 +0000

Guest (not verified) Fri, 04/26/2013 - 10:49am

Got drugs and don't want 'em? Don't worry, you can get rid of 'em.

On Saturday, April 27, its National Drug Take Back Day. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Seattle Police Department and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will allow the public to rid their homes of potentially dangerous, expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs. All of the precincts, including the North Precinct (10049 College Way N), will be accepting unwanted drugs -- completely free and anonymous, no questions asked.

Find out which one is closest by visiting SPD's precinct map page at http://www.seattle.gov/police/maps/precinct_map.htm and clicking on one of the precinct icons.

Last September was a huge success. Americans turned in 244 tons of prescription drugs at over 5,200 sites operated by the DEA and local law enforcement partners. So far, in the five previous events, the total has amounted to over 2 million pounds -- over a thousand tons -- of pills.

SPD says: "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 family medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medications – flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash – both pose potential safety and health hazards."

Follow Ballard News-Tribune on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ballardnewstrib

And Twitter at http://twitter.com/ballardnewstrib

National Drug Take Back Day

National Drug Take Back Day this Saturday, Oct 29th

amrook — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 14:31:18 +0000

amrook Fri, 10/28/2011 - 7:31am

On Saturday, Oct 29, the Seattle Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) 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.

Last April, Seattle residents helped Washington state collect more than 8,535 pounds of unused or unwanted medicine (that’s roughly 4.25 million pills in a single day) during National Drug Take Back Day.

National Drug Take Back Day highlights the critical need for permanent safe drug disposal programs to reduce the rising rates of prescription drug abuse, overdoses, and accidental poisonings. In Washington state, drug overdose is the most common cause of accidental death, superseding car accidents, with an average of two deaths per day; and medicine cabinets are the new drug dealers.

According to the Washington State Department of Health, more than three out of five teens say prescription pain relievers are easy to get from parents’ or grandparents’ medicine cabinets. Still, Washington does not have a permanent take back program for controlled substances and over-the-counter medicines. So single-day events like the DEA’s National Drug Take Back Day, are a prime opportunity to safely dispose of your unwanted prescription drugs.

The event will take place from 10 a.m. till 2 p.m. at each of the city's precincts. Ballardite should take their drugs to the Seattle Police Department North Precinct, 10049 College Way North.

To learn more about Take Back Your Meds and the need for a permanent drug take back program in Washington state visit: http://www.takebackyourmeds.org.

National Drug Take Back Day

Ballard. All of Seattle

Ballard News Tribune