September 26 at Travis County Constable- Pct 5
1003 Guadalupe St Austin, TX 78701
On September 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Travis County Constable and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will give the public its seventh opportunity in three years to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. Bring your medications for disposal to Travis County Constable- Pct 5
1003 Guadalupe St Austin, TX 78701. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
Last September, Americans turned in 309 tons (over 617,000 pounds) of prescription drugs at nearly 5,500 sites operated by the DEA and more than 4,000 of its state and local law enforcement partners. When those results are combined with what was collected in its eight previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners have taken in over 4.8 million pounds—more than 2,400 tons—of pills. In the previous nine Take-Back events nationwide from 2010-2014, 4,823,251 pounds, or 2,411 tons of drugs were collected.
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 methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards.
The Drug Enforcement Agency Acting Administrator, Chuck Rosenberg stated, “prescription drug abuse is a huge problem and this is a great opportunity for folks around the country to help reduce the threat.” "Please clean out your medicine cabinet and make your home safe from drug theft and abuse.”
The National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications. The Oak Hill Take-Back event is a joint effort of DEA, the Travis County Sheriff’s Office and the Travis County Department of Transportation and Natural Resources.
For further information, contact Shaun Auckland: [email protected] or 512-854-4496.
To find other Take-Back sites, see: http://www.justice.gov/dea/index.shtml.
