Cops Collecting Old Meds Saturday, No Questions Asked

In an effort to keep prescription drugs out of the hands of those who might misuse or abuse them, the will hold Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on Saturday, October 29 from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

Residents are invited to stop by the police station at 808 Lacey Road to drop off their unused or expired medications. A police officer will be in the lobby collecting the pills, no questions asked.

“We want to give residents a safe way to dispose of prescription drugs,” said Lacey Police Lt. Scott Tirella. “It’s a service to the community.”

Lacey police have participated in the program every year since its inception, said Tirella.

The federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) sponsors the national take-back day. In the two previous events, more than 309 tons of pills were turned into law enforcement officials at more than 5,300 sites around the nation.

The recently released 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health showed that prescription drugs that languish in home medicine cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Two-and-a-half times more people currently abuse prescription drugs than the number of those using cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens and inhalants combined. The study also said that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.

Purging home medicine cabinets of neglected drugs is one of the DEA’s strategies for reducing prescription drug abuse and diversion. The other strategies include education efforts and establishment of prescription drug monitoring programs in all states, the DEA reported in a press release.

The prescription drugs collected by Lacey police will be turned over to the DEA, who will safely destroy them, said Tirella.