Breckenridge Texan

Breckenridge police to take back unwanted prescription drugs Oct. 24 at Trade Days Pavilion

Breckenridge police to take back unwanted prescription drugs Oct. 24 at Trade Days Pavilion
October 23
14:23 2020

On Saturday, Oct. 24, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the Breckenridge Police Department and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will provide the public the opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs at the semi-annual National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.

Area residents are encouraged to take their old pills for disposal to Breckenridge Trade Days Pavilion at 503 E. Hullum. The Take-Back program cannot accept liquids, needles or sharps, only pills or patches. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

If you are unable to take your old prescription medications to the Take Back event on Saturday, you may take them to the BPD in the lobby of the Stephens County Law Enforcement Center, 210 E. Dyer St. There is a box there that you may drop your unwanted prescription drugs into. It is available to the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

This month’s event is DEA’s 19th nationwide event since its inception 10 years ago. It is usually held twice a year, but this year’s earlier Take-Back Day was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Last fall, Americans turned in nearly 883,000 pounds of prescription drugs at nearly 6,300 sites operated by the DEA and almost 5,000 of its state and local law enforcement partners. The DEA, along with its law enforcement partners, has now collected nearly 6,350 tons of expired, unused, and unwanted prescription medications since the inception of the National Prescription Drug Take Back Initiative in 2010.

To keep everyone safe, Those at Breckenridge’s collection site will follow local COVID-19 guidelines and regulations.

The 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 United States are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.

In addition to DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, there are many other ways to dispose of unwanted prescription drugs every day, including the 11,000 authorized collectors that are available all year long. For more information, visit DEA’s year-round collection site locator.

The FDA also provides information on how to properly dispose of prescription drugs. More information is available here: https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/where-and-how-dispose-unused-medicines.

For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or about the Oct. 24 Take Back Day event, go to www.DEATakeBack.com or contact Breckenridge Police Department at 254-559-2211.

 

Editor’s note: This article was updated at 8:57 a.m. Monday, Oct. 26, 2020, to add the information about the drug disposal box at the Law Enforcement Center.

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