VAN BUREN COUNTY SHERIFF’S RESERVE OFFICERS TAKING BACK UNWANTED PRESCRIPTION DRUGS September 26, 2015 Keosauqua Senior Center, 801 Front St, Keosauqua, IA

On September 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Reserve Officers, the Van Buren County SAFE Coalition and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will give the public its tenth opportunity in five 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 the Keosauqua Senior Center at 801 Front Street, Keosauqua, IA 52565.  (The DEA cannot accept liquids or needles or sharps, only pills or patches.)  The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

Last September, Americans turned in 309 tons (over 617,000 pounds) of prescription drugs at nearly 5,500 sites operated by the DEA and more than 4,000 of its state and local law enforcement partners.  When those results are combined with what was collected in its eight previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners have taken in over 4.8 million pounds—more than 2,400 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.

You do not have to wait for a Drug Take Back event to dispose of your medication.  Lee Pharmacy in Keosauqua accepts the return of prescription medications (excluding controlled substances) during their regular hours at their pharmacy counter.

The Sheriff’s Reserve Officers and the SAFE Coalition are asking for your help in promoting the event, please let anyone who may have unused medication know about this! For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or about the September 26, 2015 Take Back Day event, go to the DEA Office of  Diversion Control site at http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/index.html or contact the Van Buren County SAFE Coalition at 319-293-6412 or at info@vbsafecoalition.com.