DEA, local police team for prescription drug take-back day

More than 20 local law enforcement agencies are participating in the Drug Enforcement Administration’s upcoming National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.

Collections sites will be set up from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 28. Residents are invited to drop off their unwanted, unused prescription drugs as a way to safely dispose of the medications.

DEA officials say prescription drugs that are thrown in the trash can be retrieved and abused or illegally sold, and that flushed drugs contaminate the water supply.

Some departments won’t accept liquid products, intravenous solutions or syringes, and also ask that other medication containers be put into clear zip-lock bags.

Over the last 13 months, Americans turned in 995,000 pounds of unwanted or expired medications at three previous DEA events.

“The amount of prescription drugs turned in by the American public during the past three Take-Back Day events speaks volumes about the need to develop a convenient way to rid homes of unwanted or expired prescription drugs,” DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart said in a statement. “DEA remains hard at work to establish just such a drug disposal process, and will continue to offer take-back opportunities until the proper regulations are in place.”

Among the departments scheduled to offer sites at their respective police stations are Algonquin, Arlington Heights, Aurora, Barrington, Carpentersville, Cary, Des Plaines, Elgin, Elk Grove Village, Geneva, Hoffman Estates, Huntley, Lake in the Hills, Lakewood, Mount Prospect, Mundelein, Palatine, Prospect Heights, Rolling Meadows, Roselle, Sugar Grove and Wauconda.

The Cook County Sheriff’s Office will set up a collection site at the courthouse in Rolling Meadows. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office site will be at Deer Park Village Hall.

For more information, visit dea.gov.