Unwanted prescription collection set
COSHOCTON – Coshocton County Sheriff Timothy Rogers, Coshocton County Persecutor Jason Given and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) are working together from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 26, to give the public the opportunity to help prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous, expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs. Bring you medications for disposal to the Coshocton County Fairgrounds at 707 Kenilworth Ave. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked. Liquids, needles or sharps will not be accepted, pills only.
Last year, Americans turned in 242,000 pounds, 121 tons of prescription drugs at nearly 4,100 sites operated by the DEA and more than 3,000 state and local law enforcement partners, including the Coshocton County Sheriff’s Office.
This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medications that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States 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 – pose potential safety and health hazards.
Congress passed the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, which amends the Controlled Substance Act to allow an ultimate user of controlled substance medications to dispose of them by delivering them to entitles authorized by the Attorney General to accept them. The act allows the Attorney General to authorize long term care facilities to dispose of their residents’ controlled substances in certain instances. DEA has begun drafting regulations to implement the act.
Category: People & Places
