Manassas Park Police, DEA 'Take Back' Unwanted Prescription Drugs

Drug Enforcement Administration officers and local police are taking the initiative in preventing prescription drug abuse by gathering unwanted drugs and disposing of them properly.

Manassas Park Police and DEA officers will collect expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs on April 28 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Manassas Park Police Department at 329 Manassas Dr. 

Turning such medications over to police can prevent theft, abuse and accidental poisonings, police said. 

Residents can turn their medications over for free and without being questioned by police.

The DEA collected more than 377,086 pounds of unwanted medications at some 5,000 take-back sites during its on Oct. 29, 2011. 

DEA officials say this initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. The rate of prescription drug abuse in the United States is extremely high and so are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses, according to police. 

Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends many by way of the home medicine cabinet.

In recent years, researchers have discovered that flushing discarded medications down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—the usual manners of disposal—can pose public safety and health hazards.