Don’t throw out old pills!

Bring them to ‘Prescription Drug Take-Back’ event

April 22, 2014 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Residents are being asked to bring their unused prescription pills to safe locations throughout Brooklyn as part of the US Drug Enforcement Agency’s National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on April 26. Eagle photo by Paula Katinas

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Don’t toss those old, outdated prescription pills in the trash!

In an effort to keep prescription drugs from falling into the wrong hands, the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) started National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day to encourage residents to bring their outdated medications to a safe place, such as a police station, instead of putting them in the trash or flushing them down the toilet.

The Eighth Annual National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is Saturday, April 26.

State Sen. Marty Golden (R-C-Bay Ridge-southern Brooklyn) said he is encouraging residents to turn in unused or expired medications for safe disposal at the two locations in southern Brooklyn – the 68th Precinct stationhouse at 333 65th St. and the 61st Precinct stationhouse at 2575 Coney Island Ave., between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday.

“As we continue to fight the war on prescription drugs, this is an opportunity for people throughout my district to clean out their medicine cabinets,” Golden said. “This is a great chance to get rid of those unwanted or expired medications so that they can no longer pose a hazard to those who live in or visit your house. We have heard too many horror stories of lives lost and destroyed because of drugs, and now is our chance to take action.”

Brooklyn residents can call 1-800-882-9539 or visit the “Collection Site Locator” on the DEA’s website to find locations around the borough where they can bring the prescription medications. Information is also available at Golden’s office at 718-238-6044.

You can turn in the pills anonymously with no questions asked, officials said.

The drug “take back” event is proving to be extremely popular around the country, according to the DEA. There was an astounding 50 percent jump in the number of pills the agency collected between 2011 and 2102.

In 2012, 742,497 pounds (that’s 371 tons) of prescription medications were collected from the public at more than 5,829 locations around the US.

The DEA’s Take-Back events are part of the White House’s prescription drug abuse prevention strategy, which was outlined in 2011 by the Office of National Drug Control Policy. The safe disposal of unused or expired medications is just one of four strategies employed by the federal government in the effort to reduce prescription drug abuse. The other strategies include education; encouraging the establishment of prescription drug monitoring programs in all 50 states; and increasing enforcement to stop the practice of “doctor shopping.”