DEA National Prescription Takeback Day today
Apr. 26—Today is the Drug Enforcement Administration's National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, with sites around Ashtabula country accepting left-over medications.
There are five sites in the county that are accepting left-over prescription drugs, including the Conneaut, Jefferson and Andover police departments, along with UH Geneva and the Windsor Township garage at the intersection of Route 534 and Route 86.
Ashtabula County Sheriff Bill Niemi said this is a good opportunity to help people get rid of prescription drugs they may not know what to do with.
"I think it's a good public service we can provide," he said.
The event is a secure way to dispose of drugs, to make sure someone cannot get their hands on them improperly, Niemi said.
"I think it's a good program," he said. "A lot of people utilize it too, so I'm glad to see that."
Jefferson Police Department Deputy Chief Joe Schor said the department also hosted another prescription take-back event on Friday.
"We did it [Friday] because today is the last day the village table is open," he said. "I set up a table over there, and several people came over. We handed out information on the proper way to dispose of medications."
Schor said the department had a sharps container on-hand to collect old syringes, and accepted two boxes of old medication on Friday.
"We had a really good turnout," he said.
The JPD also will participate in today's take-back event as well, with people able to drop off medications at the police department.
The DEA hosts the event twice a year, according to the website for Take Back Day, and in October, just under 300 tons of prescription drugs were collected from 4,675 collection sites.
On that day, 43,420 pounds of prescription drugs were collected from Ohio, second in the nation behind Wisconsin, where 53,122 pounds of prescription drugs were collected, according to information from the DEA. Ohio also had the second-highest number of collection sites, 278, again behind Wisconsin with 304.
This year's event will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and there are close to 5,000 drop-off locations participating this year, according to a press release from the DEA.
"Properly disposing of unneeded medications is essential. It stops drug poisonings and minimizes the risk for misuse," DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said in a press release. "DEA is committed to protecting the safety and health of all Americans. DEA's National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is a free and easy way to come together as a community to turn the tide on the drug poisoning epidemic."
Tablets, capsules, patches and other forms of prescription drugs will be accepted, and liquid products should be tightly sealed in their original containers, according to the release. Vaping devices and cartridges will be accepted if lithium batteries have been removed.
Collection sites will not accept syringes, sharps and illicit drugs, according to the release.
Participating locations for the event can be found at www.deatakeback.com.
