PRESS RELEASE
National Prescription Drug Take Back Day
10/22/2016 - All Day
Drug Enforcement Administration, Mat-Su Borough
Palmer & Wasilla Fred Meyers
FREE Event
On Saturday, October 22, 2016 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the Mat-Su Borough, Wasilla Police, Palmer Police and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will give the public its 12th opportunity in six years 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 Wasilla or Palmer Fred Meyer Stores. The DEA cannot accept liquids, needles or sharps, only pills or patches. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
During the last event held in April 2016, Americans turned in 447 tons (over 893,000 pounds) of prescription drugs at approximately 5,400 sites in the U.S. operated by the DEA and more than 4,200 of its state and local law enforcement partners. Overall, in its 11 previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners have taken in over 6.4 million pounds - about 3,200 tons - of pills.
Last April, 4,162 pounds of medications were dropped off in the state of Alaska. Of that amount, 683 pounds were collected in the Mat-Su Valley.
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 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 disposal of prescription drugs or about the October 22nd National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, go to www.dea.gov or contact Mat-Su Borough at (907) 861-8557.