Dearborn Police Host Prescription Pill Take-Back Program

DEARBORN, MI — Do you have any leftover prescriptions to safely discard of? The Dearborn Police Department is hosting a drug take back program.

On Saturday, Oct. 27, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the Dearborn Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration will give the public its 16th opportunity in seven 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 front lobby of the Dearborn Police Station at 16099 Michigan Avenue, Dearborn, Michigan 48126. (The DEA cannot accept liquids or needles or sharps, only pills or patches.) The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

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, officials say. 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.

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 Oct. 27 Take Back Day event, go to www.DEATakeBack.com

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