Prescription Drug Drop-Off Day Set for Oct. 22: LCSO

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA — Loudoun County residents can discard potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs for destruction on October 22, 2016, from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., at four sites in the County, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office (LCSO).

In partnership with the Town of Purcellville Police Department, LCSO has once again partnered with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in the “Take-Back” initiative that seeks to prevent increased pill abuse and theft.

The drop-off locations will be:

• Eastern Loudoun Sheriff’s Station, located at 46620 East Frederick Drive, Sterling
• Dulles South Public Safety Center, located at 25216 Loudoun County Parkway, South Riding
• Lansdowne Public Safety Center located, at 19845 Sandridge Way, Lansdowne
• The Town of Purcellville Police Department will set up a drop-off location in the parking lot for Fireman’s Field, located at 250 S. Nursery Avenue, Purcellville

The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked, according to the LCSO.

Since the inception of the DEA take-back program in 2010, more than 7,800 pounds of unwanted and unused prescription medications have been taken off the streets of Loudoun County.

Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman, a former Special Agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, says the program addresses a critical public safety and health issue. “Recent research has shown that 75% of treatment-seeking users of heroin were introduced to opioids through prescription medication. It is imperative we remove any unused and unwanted medications from our homes, as most opioid users often get access to prescription medications from friends and relatives,” said Sheriff Chapman.

Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States are increasing at alarming rates, 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. “It is our goal to make our homes and communities safer by providing a method to dispose of these drugs,” said Chief Cynthia McAlister of the Town of Purcellville Police Department.

The take-back program has been incorporated into a regional heroin initiative called the Heroin Operations Team. In April 2015, Loudoun Sheriff Chapman joined U.S. Representative Barbara Comstock (VA-10th District) to form the HOT Team. HOT employs a comprehensive approach that includes enforcement (at all levels), education and prevention by incorporating local, state and federal law enforcement, according to the LCSO.