Dedham Police Dept. to Hold Drug Take-Back Event

Later this month, the Dedham Police Department will take part in the Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Drug Take-Back event.

As part of the event, unused or expired medication may be disposed of in the parking lot area of the department at 600 High St. between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 27. A Dedham police officer will be on-hand during the event to accept the medications.

“We encourage all to check their medicine cabinets for unused and expired medications,” Dedham Police Chief Michael d’Entremont said in a statement.

Dedham police said they are participating in the event for the following reasons:

• Unused or expired prescription medications are a public safety issue which can lead to accidental poisoning, overdose or abuse
• Pharmaceutical drugs can be just as dangerous as street drugs when taken without a prescription or a doctor’s supervision.
• The non-medical use of prescription drugs ranks second only to marijuana as the most common form of drug abuse in America.
• The majority of teenagers abusing prescription drugs get them from family and friends, and the home medicine cabinet.
• Unused prescription drugs thrown in the trash can be trieved and abused or illegally sold. Unused drugs that are flushed contaminate the water supply. Proper disposal of unused drugs saves lives and protects the environment.
• Take-back programs are the best way to dispose of old drugs.
• The Dedham Police Department accepts unused and expired drugs in the public lobby of the police station 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.

For more information, visit dea.gov, getsmartaboutdrugs.com or justthinktwice.com.