GET THOSE PILLS OUT OF YOUR CABINET!

Galveston Police Department & Texas City Police Department
are taking back unwanted prescription drugs Saturday 4-28
[Galveston, TX] – On Saturday, April 28, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the
Galveston Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration
will give the public its 15th opportunity in 7 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 Galveston Police Department at 601 54th St., Galveston,
TX 77551 OR Texas City Police Department at 1004 9th Avenue N,
Texas City, TX 77590. (The DEA cannot accept liquids or needles or
sharps, only pills or patches.) The service is free and anonymous,
no questions asked.
Last fall Americans turned in 456 tons (912,000 pounds) of prescription
drugs at more than 5,300 sites operated by the DEA and
almost 4,300 of its state and local law enforcement partners. Overall,
in its 14 previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners have taken
in more than 9 million pounds—more than 4,500 tons—of pills.
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. 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. 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.
For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or
about the April 28th, 2018 Take Back Day event, go to www.DEATake-
Back.com or contact Jennifer Hart, galveston.ccp@bacoda.org.