People Return Unused Prescriptions By The Bagful in East Lyme

People seem to be getting the message that prescription drugs can be as dangerous as street drugs if they fall into the wrong hands. On April 27, more people than ever went to collection sites in East Lyme and Old Lyme to turn in bags full of unused prescription drugs.

This was the sixth National Drug Take Back Day organized by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) in an effort to encourage people to safely dispose of unused prescriptions. But local residents won't have to wait until the next national event to clear out their medicine closets.

The East Lyme Police Department has now installed a drop box for people to safely and anonymously deposit drugs any time between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday to Friday.

"People are less apprehensive knowing the police aren't going to scrutinize it," said East Lyme Police Sergeant Terry Saffioti.

Judging from the amount of drugs people were dropping off on Saturday, there's certainly a need for this. Between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m., East Lyme Police Department netted more than 160 pounds of prescription drugs.

University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy students, who aided with the collection, said it was a lot busier than previous events they'd attended. One of the things they did notice, however, was that many people were turning in unfinished bottles of antibiotics. 

"Unfortunately, a lot of it is non-adherence to drug prescriptions," UConn Pharmacy student Karl Lussier, adding that this is something doctors and pharmacists caution against. 

All the drugs collected are turned over to the DEA for incineration. As Lussier noted, it's a much more environmentally-safe way to dispose of drugs that in times past people often just flushed away.