by Bea Peterson
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration recently announced that it will no longer conduct Drug Drop Off Days. The Agency is working on plans for unused prescription drugs to be turned in at pharmacies, hospitals and other facilities instead.
[private]Dennis Whitney, a pharmacist at Thorpe’s Pharmacy in Hoosick Falls, said the concept has been approved for the change but all the details are still in development. He said it’s way too early yet to know if Thorpe’s will accept unused prescription drugs.
HFPD Still Accepting Prescription Drugs
Hoosick Falls Police Chief Robert Ashe said his Department will continue to accept prescription drugs until the new regulations are complete and in place.
Hoosick Responds
In the Municipal Building on Saturday over 40 residents brought in a total of three and a half containers full of unused prescriptions to be destroyed by DEA. Hoosick has responded well to all of the Drug Drop Off days.
According to the DEA Public Affairs Office, “Last April Americans turned in over 780,000 pounds (390 tons) of prescription drugs. Since its first National Take Back Day in September of 2010, DEA has collected more than 4.1 million pounds (over 2,100 tons) of prescription drugs throughout all 50 states, the District of Columbia and several U.S. territories.
“The public’s enormous response to DEA’s eight prior National Take Back Days demonstrates its recognition of the need for a way to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous prescription drugs. Unused medications in homes create a public health and safety concern because they can be accidentally ingested, stolen, misused and abused. While the number of Americans who currently abuse prescription drugs dropped in 2013 to 6.5 million from 6.8 million in 2012, that is still more than double the number of those using heroin, cocaine and hallucinogens like LSD and Ecstasy combined, according to the 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. In addition, 22,134 Americans died in 2011 from overdoses of prescription medications, including 16,651 from narcotic painkillers, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The survey of users cited above also found that the majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.”
The public is now aware that putting old meds down the toilet or in the trash is harmful to the environment and leaving them in the medicine cabinet makes them harmful to family members and others who might abuse them.[/private]