On September 29 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the Newark Police Department, University of Delaware Office of Public Safety, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will give the public another opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs.
Residents can bring medications for disposal to the Newark Senior Center at 200 White Chapel Drive or the UD Office of Public Safety at 413 Academy St. The service is free and anonymous, wit no questions asked.
Last April, Americans turned in 552,161 pounds (276 tons) of unwanted or expired medications for safe and proper disposal at the 5,659 take-back sites operated by the DEA and nearly 4,000 state and local law enforcement partners. In its four previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners took 1.5 million pounds—774 tons—of pills.
This initiative addresses a 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. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including 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.
