The Omaha Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration will give the public another opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs.
The Northeast Precinct is again partnering with Creighton University and Walgreens, providing a drop-off site at the Walgreens at 30th and Lake Street Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
Other sites in the state accepting the drugs between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. are the Lincoln Neighborhood Pharmacy, the Fremont Area Medical Center, Columbus Community Hospital, St. Francis Medical Center in Grand Island and St. Francis Memorial Hospital in West Point.
Last April, Americans turned in 552,161 pounds or 276 tons of prescription drugs at over 5,600 sites operated by the DEA and nearly 4,300 state and local law enforcement partners. In its four previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners took in over 1.5 million pounds, nearly 775 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, such as flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash, both pose potential safety and health hazards.
Four days after the first event, Congress passed the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, which amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow an “ultimate user” of controlled substance medications to dispose of them by delivering them to entities authorized by the attorney general to accept them. The Act also allows the attorney general to authorize long-term care facilities to dispose of their residents’ controlled substances in certain instances.
DEA is drafting regulations to implement the Act, a process that can take as long as 24 months. Until new regulations are in place, local law enforcement agencies like the Omaha Police Department and the DEA will continue to hold prescription drug take-back events every few months.
