Drop off: Dispose of prescription drugs properly; take part in Take Back Day
Posted by: GuamPDN
Expired and unused prescription medications in your home can endanger your children and family. It's imperative that parents take the necessary steps to ensure that they properly dispose of old drugs in their homes.
Expired or unused prescription drugs that are left in home medicine cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse.
Some alarming warnings from the Drug Enforcement Administration:
Prescription medications can be just as deadly as illegal drugs when taken without a prescription or a doctor's supervision.
The non-medical use of prescription medications ranks second only to marijuana as the most common form of drug abuse in the country.
The majority of teens abusing prescription medications get them from family and friends -- and the home medicine cabinet.
Unused prescription drugs thrown in the garbage can be retrieved and abused. If they're flushed down the toilet or drain, the drugs could contaminate the water supply
Residents should take advantage of the 2014 National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 26. During the event, residents can drop off their old drugs, no questions asked. The drugs will be properly disposed of. Tablets, capsules and all other solid dosage forms of medication will be accepted. New or used needles and syringes won't be accepted.
We applaud the U.S. Attorney's Office and the Office of the Attorney General, in partnership with the Drug Enforcement Administration, for coordinating the National Take Back Initiative.
We all need to do our part to keep our families safe by ensuring unused or expired medicines are disposed of properly when it no longer needed.
