PRESS RELEASE
National Prescription Drug Take Back Day
10/28/2017 – 10AM
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Mat-Su Borough, Wasilla Police, Palmer Police
Wasilla & Palmer Fred Meyers, Talkeetna Sunshine Community Health Center
1501 E Parks Hwy. Wasilla, 535 W Evergreen Ave. Palmer, 34300 Talkeetna Spur Rd. Talkeetna
FREE Event
On Saturday, October 28, 2017 from 10am to 2 pm, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Mat-Su Borough, Wasilla Police and Palmer Police will give the Mat-Su Valley its 14th opportunity since 2010 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 the Fred Meyer Store in Wasilla or Palmer, or to the Talkeetna Sunshine Community Health Center:
• Participants may dispose of medication in its original container or by removing the medication from its container and disposing of it directly into a disposal box. If an original container is submitted, the individual is encouraged to remove any identifying information from the prescription label by either removing the label or utilizing a permanent marker.
• All solid dosage pharmaceutical products and liquid products, such as cough syrup, should remain tightly sealed in their original container.
• Intravenous solutions, injectables, syringes, chemotherapy medications or medical waste will not be accepted, due to the potential hazard posed by blood-borne pathogens.
• The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
Nationally on April 29th, the DEA and more than 4,200 of its law enforcement and community partners collected more unused prescription drugs than at any of the 12 previous National Prescription Drug Take Back Day events. The event brought in 900,386 pounds (450 tons) at close to 5,500 sites across the nation. Since 2010, these events have altogether collected 8,103,363 pounds (4,052 tons) of prescription drugs.
The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day Initiative addresses a crucial public safety and public health issue. According to the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 6.4 million Americans abused controlled-prescription drugs. The study shows that a majority of abused prescription drugs were obtained from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet. The DEA’s Take Back Day events provide an opportunity for Americans to prevent drug addiction and overdose deaths.
"Too often, unused prescription drugs find their way into the wrong hands. That's dangerous and often tragic,” said Acting DEA Administrator, Chuck Rosenberg. “That's why it was great to see thousands of folks from across the country clean out their medicine cabinets and turn in - safely and anonymously - a record amount of prescription drugs.”
For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or about the October 28th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, go to www.dea.gov or contact the Mat-Su Borough at (907) 861-8557.
