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Prescription Drug Take Back Day
The next National Prescription Drug Take Back Day will be on Saturday, April 29, 2017, from 10am to 2pm. The event is intended to provide a safe way for people to get rid of unwanted and unused prescription drugs.
The following sites in Guam and in the CNMI are designated to receive unused prescription drugs:
- Naval Base Guam (Navy Exchange Food Court)
- Agana Shopping Center (Across Vitamin World)
- Andersen Air Force Base Exchange (front entrance)
- Commonwealth Health Center
The first National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day event was held in September 2010. Guam and the CNMI have participated every year since.
The purpose of the National Drug Take-Back Initiative is to help prevent increased pill abuse and theft, to encourage the public to rid their household of unused prescription drugs that pose a safety hazard and can contribute to prescription drug abuse, and to provide a venue for persons who want to dispose of unwanted and unused prescription drugs for safe disposal by Drug Enforcement Agency.
According to Alicia A.G. Limtiaco, U.S. Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, together with Drug Enforcement Administration acting resident agent in Charge Kirk F. Williamson, take-back programs are the best way to dispose of old drugs. Unused or expired prescription medications are a public safety issue, leading to accidental poisoning, overdose, and abuse. Pharmaceutical drugs can be just as dangerous as street drugs when taken without a prescription or a doctor’s supervision. The majority of teenagers abusing prescription drugs get them from family and friends—and the home medicine cabinet.
The non-medical use of prescription drugs ranks second only to marijuana as the most common form of drug abuse in America. Unused prescription drugs thrown in the trash can be retrieved and abused or illegally sold. Unused drugs that are flushed contaminate the water supply. Proper disposal of unused drugs saves lives and protects the environment.
For more information on prescription drug abuse, go to: www.dea.gov, www.getsmartaboutdrugs.com, or www.justthinktwice.com. (PR)
