Disposing of your un-used medications this Saturday.
Wisconsinites are being encouraged to participate in the national Prescription Drug “Take Back” Day. Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen says prescription drugs are horribly abused in our society and many in the general public don’t realize it. “They also don’t realize that approximately two-thirds of the prescription drugs that are abused are taken out of somebody’s medicine cabinet who they know and whose house they’ve been at — drugs that were legally prescribed but are expired.”
Officials urge citizens to get rid of the unneeded drugs in an environmentally safe way. Van Hollen discourages flushing meds down the toilets or tossing them in the garbage. The harmful ingredients end up in the water, which can negatively impact the environment, wildlife, and humans. This initiative has been implemented for a little over two years; this is their fifth Prescription Drug Take Back day, with nearly 19 tons collected on just one day this year. “Taking 37,000 pounds off the streets last April in Wisconsin alone was a huge success. We were the third most successful state in the union regardless of size.”
Unused drugs can be turned-in almost any day at a law enforcement agency, but the Drug Take Back day is set aside specifically to call attention to the issue, at 140 locations throughout the state.
Individuals with unwanted, expired or unused prescription drugs may drop them off this Saturday, September 29, 2012, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in 140 communities across the state. The Take Back service is free and anonymous. You can find a drop-off location near you by visiting the DEA website: www.DEA.gov.
AUDIO: Jackie Johnson report 1:22