On Saturday, April 27, 2019 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the Carbondale Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration will give the public its 17th 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 police department at 501 South Washington Street in Carbondale, Illinois. (The DEA cannot accept liquids or needles or sharps, only pills or patches.) The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
The Carbondale Police Department is also partnering with Kroger’s to include a secondary site where unwanted medications can be disposed. The secondary site will be at Kroger’s, located at 501 North Giant City Road in Carbondale, IL. The Kroger’s take back site will also be open on Saturday, April 27th, 2019 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Last spring Americans turned in 474.5 tons (949,046 pounds) of prescription drugs at more than 5,800 sites operated by the DEA and 4,683 of its state and local law enforcement partners. Overall, in its 17 previous Take Back events, the DEA and its partners have taken in more than 9 million pounds—more than 4,500 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. 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 April 27 Take Back Day event, go to www.DEATakeBack.com