Results of weekend prescription drug take-back announced

The Culpeper Division of the Virginia State Police has announced the result of its prescription drug take-back event of Saturday, October 28. Those results, by weight of drugs returned to participating law enforcement agencies in the regional jurisdiction are:

The statewide event was part of an ongoing cooperative effort partnering local, state and federal law enforcement in a public health initiative.  The goal is to both “prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding … homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs” and provide a safer way for disposal.

As for the latter, “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.”  Older municipal wastewater treatment systems do not remove drugs from water returned to the rivers those systems draw on.

In addition, the VSP release notes that “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.”

Statistics released indicate that last April Americans turned in 450 tons (900,000 pounds) of prescription drugs at almost 5,500 sites operated by the DEA and more than 4,200 of its state and local law enforcement partners.  Overall, in its 13 previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners have taken in over 8.1 million pounds more than 4,050 tons of pills.