Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office taking back unwanted prescription drugs October 27, 2018

On Saturday, October 27th, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration will give the public its 16th opportunity in 8 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 Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office at 907 Broad Street, Keosauqua, IA 52565.  (The DEA cannot accept liquids, needles or sharps, only pills or patches.)  The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

The last Take-Back Day brought in almost 1 million pounds of unused or expired prescription medication. This is the largest amount collected since the program began in 2010.  This brings the total amount of prescription drugs collected by DEA since the fall of 2010 to 9,964,714 pounds, or 4,982 tons.

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.  The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows year after year that the majority of misused and abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including someone else’s medication being stolen 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 October 27, 2018 Take Back Day event, go to https://takebackday.dea.gov/ or contact the Van Buren County SAFE Coalition at 319-293-3334 ext. 1017 or safe.coalition@van-burencsd.org