On Saturday, September 27, 2014, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) 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. Bring your pills for disposal at the following locations. Please note that the DEA cannot accept liquids or needles or sharps, only pills or patches. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
DROP OFF LOCATIONS:
- Office of the Sheriff Muir Station, 1980 Muir Road, Martinez, CA (Field Operations Building)
- Office of the Sheriff Bay Station, 5555 Giant Highway, Richmond, CA (West County Detention Facility)
- Danville Police Department, 510 La Gonda Way, Danville, CA
- Lafayette Police Department, 3675 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Suite 130, Lafayette, CA
- Oakley Police Department, 3231 Main Street, Oakley, CA
- Orinda Police Department, 22 Orinda Way, Orinda, CA
Unused medications in homes create a public health and safety concern, because they can be accidentally ingested, stolen, misused, and abused. While the number of Americans who currently abuse prescription drugs dropped in 2013 to 6.5 million from 6.8 million in 2012, that is still more than double the number of those using heroin, cocaine, and hallucinogens like LSD and Ecstasy combined, according to the 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
In addition, 22,134 Americans died in 2011 from overdoses of prescription medications, including 16,651 from narcotic painkillers, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The survey of users cited above also found that the majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.
The public’s enormous response to DEA’s 8 previous National Take Back Days demonstrates its recognition of the need for a way to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous prescription drugs. Last April Americans turned in over 780,000 pounds (390 tons) of prescription drugs.
Since its first National Take Back Day in September of 2010, DEA has collected more than 4.1 million pounds (over 2,100 tons) of prescription drugs throughout all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and several U.S. territories.
For more information on the Take Back program, visit: www.dea.gov.
