The Perry Police Department and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will host a drug take-back event on National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day Saturday, April 29 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Perry Hy-Vee as 1215 Highway 141. Perry-area residents are encouraged to bring in all unwanted drugs for safe disposal.
Drug take-back events help to prevent pill abuse and theft by letting local residents rid their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs. It is an ideal way to dispose of unwanted drugs in an environmentally safe way that keeps them out of the hands of abusers.
The service is free and anonymous: No questions asked.
The DEA cannot accept liquids or needles or sharps, only pills and patches.
The April 29 take-back event will mark the 13th time over the last seven years the Perry Police Department and DEA have partnered in this successful program. In last October’s take-back, Americans turned in 366 tons — more than 730,000 pounds — of prescription drugs at almost 5,200 sites operated by the DEA and some 4,000 of its state and local law enforcement partners.
Overall, the 12 previous take-back events have netted more than 7.1 million pounds—more than 3,500 tons—of pills by the DEA and its partners.
“This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue,” said Perry Police Chief Eric Vaughn. “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. In addition, 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.”
For more information about the safe disposal of prescription drugs or about the April 29 take-back event, visit the DEA Diversion website or call the Perry Police Department at 515-465-4636.
