LEVY
COUNTY, FL – On Saturday, October 22, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the Levy County
Prevention Coalition, Levy County Sheriff’s Office, Cedar Key Police
Department, Chiefland Police Department, Williston Police Department and the
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will give the public its 12th opportunity
in six years to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of
potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. Bring your pills for disposal to any of the
following locations. (The DEA cannot
accept liquids or needles or sharps, only pills or patches.) The
service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
Cedar
Key Police Department, 490 2nd Street, Cedar Key, FL
Chiefland
Police Department, 14 East Park Avenue, Chiefland, FL
Inglis
Town Hall, 135 Hwy 40 West, Inglis, FL
Levy
County Sheriff’s Office, 9150 NE 80th Avenue, Bronson, FL
Williston
Police Department, 5 SW 1st Avenue, Williston, FL
Last
April, Americans turned in 447 tons (over 893,000 pounds) of prescription drugs
at almost 5,400 sites operated by the DEA and more than 4,200 of its state and
local law enforcement partners. Overall,
in its 11 previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners have taken in over
6.4 million pounds—about 3,200 tons—of pills.
This
initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are
highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug
abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental
poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.
Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained
from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition,
Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused
medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose
potential safety and health hazards.
For
more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or about the October
22 Take Back Day event, visit the Levy County Prevention Coalitions page
on Facebook.
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