TERRELL, Texas (Terrell Police Department) — In a continued effort to combat drug addiction in Terrell, residents participated in the tenth semi-annual Drug Take-Back Day this past Saturday.
TERRELL, Texas (Terrell Police Department) — In a continued effort to combat drug addiction in Terrell, residents participated in the tenth semi-annual Drug Take-Back Day this past Saturday.
The initiative, which took place nationwide on Saturday, September 26, encourages people to turn in unused prescription medicines, according to a press release from the DEA. This drug take-back day gives Americans the opportunity to turn in unwanted and unused prescription drugs for proper disposal, rather than doing so by potentially hazardous means like flushing them down the toilet or throwing them away in the trash.
“Medications can be misused, and as we’ve seen with the opioid crisis, the results can be deadly,”says Timothy Desmond, spokesperson for the New England division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
“Working together with our state and local partners, the medical community, anti-drug coalitions, and a concerned public, we will eliminate a major source of abused prescription drugs, and reduce the hazard they pose to our families and communities in a safe, legal, and environmentally sound way,” he said.
Terrell was the only location in Kaufman County participating in this event. "We collected 25 pounds of unused prescription medicines and turned them in to the DEA for disposal", said Sgt Mark Pritchard of the Terrell Police Department. "We have participated in this event since it was started in 2010."
Several residents disposing of their medicines commented they were happy that Terrell was participating in this event and appreciated the ability to safely disposal of these medicines, Pritchard said. Several local pharmacies also have "disposal bags" available where the consumer can mail unwanted prescriptions to a secure disposal site using the supplied security envelope. DEA began hosting National Prescription Drug Take-Back events in 2010. Terrell has participated in the previous nine Take-Back Day events, where nationwide, 4,823,251 pounds (2,411 tons) of unwanted, unneeded or expired medications were surrendered for safe and proper disposal. The disposal service is free and anonymous for consumers, with no questions asked.
Prescription medications play an important role in the health of millions of Americans. However, expired medications or unused drugs often stay in the back of cabinets for months or even years. These expired drugs can pose significant health hazards to toddlers, teens, and even family pets who may inadvertently consume medications. Some medications are so potent that even one dose could be fatal if accidentally ingested. Throwing away certain medications in trash cans or flushing them down the toilet can be a safety and health hazard, too. The "old way" of disposing of unwanted medicines by flushing them down the toilet affects our sewer processing systems and also allows them to get back into our water supply networks.
There are other important safety issues, as well: misuse of prescription drugs is second only to marijuana use as the nation's most commonly used illicit drug. While the number of Americans who currently abuse prescription drugs dropped from 6.8 million in 2012 to 6.5 million in 2013, that is still more than double the number of those using illicit drugs of abuse like heroin, cocaine, and LSD combined. According to the 2013 Monitoring the Future Survey, over 28 percent of 12th graders had abused prescription medications in the past 12 months. These statistics magnify the need for proper disposal of unused or expired prescription medications.
Consumers may also continue to utilize the guidelines for the disposal of controlled substances listed by the Food and Drug Administration if they were not able to attend the scheduled Take- Back Day.
