Got Drugs? Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is Saturday

What do you do with expired or unused prescription drugs? Don’t throw them in the trash or flush them down the toilet. Chemicals from prescription medications are showing up in ground water and soil in many states across the nation. So what do you do with them? No worries, the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is Saturday, April 30.

The Metropolitan King County Council gave its unanimous support to a national effort encouraging the safe disposal of unused drugs.

 “Expired or unused prescriptions drugs are highly susceptible to abuse,” said Councilmember Reagan Dunn, the prime sponsor of the recognition. “Much of the prescription drug black market in this country comes from medicine cabinets.  I urge everyone to know what is in their medicine cabinet. When medications have expired or you are no longer using them, please take this opportunity to dispose of them properly.”

According to a 2009 national survey, rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States are alarmingly high, with more Americans currently abusing prescription drugs than those using cocaine, hallucinogens, and heroin combined. For many, prescription medications are the first drugs they abuse, and they’re obtained from the medicine cabinets of families and friends.

 The goal of National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is to get unused, unneeded and expired drugs out of homes and into the hands of agencies that can safely disposed of the medications. There is no cost for turning in the narcotics; a similar effort last fall resulted in 121 tons of drugs being taken out of homes across the nation.

The City of Woodinville has had a prescription drop-off box for more than a year. The green-metal receptacle can be found in the lobby in front of the police department counter. Anyone can drop unwanted medications, including over the counter medications, during regular business hours.

The Duvall Police Department, 26225 NE Stephens Street, Duvall, will be participating in the national event on Saturday.