National Prescription Drug Take-Back day in The Woodlands this September

THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- On September 27, 2014 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 2014, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office District 6 will give the public an opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. All residents are encouraged to bring pills for disposal to the drop-off site at The Woodlands Township Town Hall front parking lot at 2801 Technology Forest Boulevard in The Woodlands, Texas. The anonymous service is free.

The National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications.

The DEA will no longer accept any sharps or needles (injectables) at the event. If someone shows up on collection day with any form of injectable, it cannot be accepted under any circumstance, per the DEA.

Last April, the DEA reported that 780,158 pounds (390 tons) of pills were brought to 6, 072 collection sites nationwide that the DEA and its 4,423 state, local and tribal law enforcement partners set up so the public could discard unwanted, unused and expired prescription drugs from medicine cabinets, bedside tables, and kitchen drawers. When added to that collected at previous DEA-coordinated Take-Back events, 4.1 million pounds (2,123 tons) of prescription medications have been removed from circulation nationwide.

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. 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. 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 event, please visit www.dea.gov or contact The Woodlands Township at 281-210-3800.