On Saturday, April 30, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the Chesterfield Police Department and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will give the public the opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs. Bring your pills for disposal to Chesterfield Police Headquarters at 46525 Continental Dr.
We cannot accept illegal drugs, liquids, needles/sharps, inhalers, mercury thermometers, aerosol cans, bio-hazardous materials (anything containing a bodily fluid or blood), flares, personal care products (shampoo, soaps, lotions, sunscreens, etc.), household hazardous waste (paint, pesticides, chemicals, oil, or gas), no unmarked acids – only pills or patches.
This service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
The drug overdose epidemic in the United States is a clear and present public health, public safety, and national security threat. DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day reflects DEA’s commitment to Americans’ safety and health, encouraging the public to remove unneeded medications from their homes as a measure of preventing medication misuse and opioid addiction from ever starting.
DEA is committed to making our communities safer and healthier, and we can do this by reducing overdoses and overdose deaths. While the community does its part to turn in unneeded medications and remove them from potential harm, we are doing our part to further reduce drug-related violence.
The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day addresses a crucial public safety and public health issue. According to the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 9.9 million Americans misused controlled prescription drugs. The study shows that a majority of abused prescription drugs were obtained from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet.
Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows year after year that the majority of misused and abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including someone else’s medication being stolen 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 disposal of prescription drugs or about the April 30 Take Back Day event, go to www.DEAtakeback.com or visit www.chesterfieldpolice.org
