Prescription Drug Take-Back Day- Saturday, April 30, 2011

Community Message has been issued by the LASD - Headquarters Newsroom (SHB), Los Angeles County Sheriff.




Thursday April 28, 2011 10:02 PM PDT



Prescription Drug Take-Back Day - Saturday, April 30 --- Twenty LASD locations



The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and other U.S. police agencies have again partnered to offer the public an opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs.



In Los Angeles County, this combined effort will take place on Saturday April 30th, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.. The service is free and anonymous with no questions asked.



This initiative addresses a vital public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to misuse and abuse. Prescription drug abuse rates in the United States are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to those drugs. More Americans abuse prescription drugs than the number of those using cocaine, hallucinogens, and heroin combined.



In September 2010, during the last multi-agency effort, Americans turned in 242,000 pounds (121 tons) of prescription drugs at nearly 4,100 sites operated by the DEA and more than 3,000 state and local law enforcement partners.



Additionally, in Los Angeles County over the past year, the following has been collected by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and disposed of in a safe manner:



15, 041.81 pounds of prescription medications (nearly 8 tons)



3,478 pounds of used (376,237) syringes (nearly 3-1/2 tons)



5.33 pounds of illicit drugs



The public is urged to safely drop-off your unused prescription drugs on Saturday, April 30, in this joint nationwide effort. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s “Safe Drug Drop-Off” boxes are available 24-hours a day, seven days a week, in front of the following LASD patrol stations:



1. Carson Station 310 830-1123

21356 South Avalon Boulevard,