Santa Clara Police Department, 601 El Camino Real, Santa Clara
Saturday, April 28th, 2012 between 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
The Santa Clara Police Department will again join with the Drug Enforcement Administration and offer the public an opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of dangerous, expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. Members of the community are invited to drop off medications for disposal at the Santa Clara Police Department. This service is free and anonymous.
Last October, Americans disposed of 377,080 pounds–(188 tons)–of prescription drugs at 5,327 sites operated by the DEA and 3,945 state and local law enforcement partners, including the Santa Clara Police Department.
This campaign addresses vital public health and safety issues. Medicines that languish in homes are 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. Too often abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from medicine cabinets inside the home. Additionally, disposing unused medicines by flushing them down the toilet or throwing them into the trash pose potential safety and health hazards.
Until new regulations to make the disposal of prescription drugs easier are in place, local law enforcement agencies, including the Santa Clara Police Department, and the DEA will continue to hold drug take-back events every few months.
Additional information is available online at www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback.