HomeMy WebLinkAbout20180410_DrugTakeBackCPCAlways working for a safer and healthier community
615 Sheridan Street
Port Townsend, WA 98368
www.JeffersonCountyPublicHealth.org
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360-385-9400 360-385-9444
360-385-9401 (f) (f) 360-379-4487
April 10, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Jefferson County Public Health
Dr. Denise Banker, PhD
360.385.9438
Dispose Unused or Expired Medications
at Safeway Parking Lot
Saturday, April 28, 2018
Port Townsend, WA – The Chimacum drug and alcohol Prevention Coalition reminds everyone that the
DEA's National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is Saturday, April 28th. Turn in your unused or expired
prescription medications for safe disposal at the Safeway parking lot from 10 am - 2 pm.
About National Prescription Drug Take Back Day
On Saturday, April 28, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the public will have its 15th opportunity in seven years to
prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and
unwanted prescription drugs. We encourage everyone to clean out medicine cabinets and bring pills and
liquids to the Safeway parking lot for proper disposal. The service is free and anonymous, no questions
asked. The DEA cannot accept intra-venous solutions, injectables, syringes, chemotherapy medications,
medical waste, patches, needles or sharps.
Communities across the nation participate. Other communities near Chimacum and Port Townsend
participating in this year’s take back are Sequim and Oak Harbor, with sites at their Police Departments.
Last April Americans turned in 450 tons (900,000 pounds) of prescription drugs at more than 5,000 sites
operated by local law enforcement and their partners. Overall, in its 13 previous Take Back events, DEA
and its partners have taken in over 8.1 million pounds—more than 4,050 tons—of pills.
This 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
U.S. 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
Press Release: Dispose Unused or Expired Medications at Safeway Parking Lot Saturday, April 28, 2018 Page 2 of 2
methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the
trash—both pose potential health and safety hazards.
About our local Take Back Day Sponsors
Learn more about The Chimacum Prevention Coalition, along with its partners at the Port Townsend
Police Department, the Chimacum School District and Jefferson County Public Health.
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Always working for a safer and healthier community