On
April 30 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 11th opportunity in six 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 350 tons (over 702,000 pounds) of prescription
drugs at more than 5,000 sites operated by the DEA and more than 3,800 of its state
and local law enforcement partners. When
those results are combined with what was collected in its 10 previous Take Back
events, DEA and its partners have taken in over 5.5 million pounds—more than
2,750 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 30 Take Back Day event, go to the DEA
Diversion website or contact the SAFE Coalition at 319-293-6412 or info@vbsafecoalition.com.
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