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Attorney General, DEA Team Up On Nationwide Prescription Drug Take-Back Day Sept. 25
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Attorney General Tom Corbett has joined the Drug Enforcement Administration and other local law enforcement officials from across the state in support of the nationwide prescription drug take-back day efforts. The program, scheduled for September 25, is an effort to collect potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs for proper disposal and destruction. The service is free and anonymous.
"This initiative is an important step at eradicating prescription drug abuse in our communities," Corbett said. "More teens are abusing prescription narcotics and over the counter medicines than ever before; and they are finding these drugs in friend's or parent's medicine cabinets."
Corbett said that the rate of prescription drug abuse in the United States is increasing faster than ever before. In the past year the Attorney General's Office has arrested more than 300 individuals involved with abusing or selling prescription drugs. Many of those arrested were doctors, nurses or medical professionals.
"The Bureau of Narcotics Investigation agents are very active in investigating medical professionals who are illegally using prescription pain medication," Corbett said. "Prescription drugs can be just as deadly as heroin or cocaine and can lead to a multitude of other problems. It is extremely unsettling that prescription drug abuse cases involving doctors, whom we trust with our care, are becoming more and more common.
Corbett said that a common misconception with prescription drug disposal is that it is safe to flush unwanted medicine down the toilet or simply throw them away. However, both are potential safety and health hazards.
"DEA has created an excellent initiative and program that not only draws awareness to the problem of prescription drug abuse, but creates a safe, legal and environmentally friendly way of disposing unwanted drugs," Corbett said.
Collection sites will be available across Pennsylvania on September 25 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. A complete list of local sites in your community is available at the DEA website by Zip Code and city name and state.
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9/20/2010 |
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