Drug Take-Back in Uncasville Taking Place April 30

On Saturday April 30, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the Connecticut State Police and the Drug Enforcement Administration will give the public another opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs.

People may bring their medications for disposal to one of the sites listed below. The service is free and anonymous and no questions are asked, police said.

State Police Collection Sites

• Troop A — Southbury 90 Lakeside Road, Southbury
• Troop B — North Canaan 463B Ashley Falls Road, North Canaan
• Troop C — Tolland 1320 Tolland Stage Road, Tolland
• Troop D —Danielson 55 Wescott Road, Danielson
• Troop E — Montville off I-395, Uncasville
• Troop F — Westbrook 315 Spencer Plains Road, Westbrook
• Troop G — Bridgeport 149 Prospect Street, Bridgeport
• Troop H — Hartford 100R Washington Street, Hartford
• Troop I — Bethany 631 Amity Road, Bethany
• Troop K — Colchester 15A Old Hartford Road, Colchester
• Troop L — Litchfield 452A Bantam Road, Litchfield
• Mortlake Fire Company — 12 Canterbury Rd., Brooklyn
• Walgreens — North Main St., Danielson

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.

Congress passed the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, which amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow an “ultimate user” of controlled substance medications to dispose of them by delivering them to entities authorized by the Attorney General to accept them.

The Act also allows the Attorney General to authorize long term care facilities to dispose of their residents’ controlled substances in certain instances. Local law enforcement agencies and the DEA will continue to hold prescription drug take-back events every few months.

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. Please encourage everyone to dispose of any unwanted, outdated prescription drugs.

Photo by Jamiesrabbits, via flickr creative commons