It’s time to clean out those medicine cabinets! The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is this weekend, and officers will be on hand at the Canby Police Department from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday to accept your expired, unused and unwanted prescription medications.
This service is free and completely anonymous.
Canby police say the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day event addresses a “crucial public safety and public health issue,” helping to take controlled drugs out of the hands of the estimated 10 million Americans who may misuse them each year. According to the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 9.9 million Americans misused controlled prescription drugs.
“Too often, unused prescription drugs find their way into the wrong hands. That’s dangerous and often tragic,” the Canby Police Department said on Facebook. “That’s why the Canby PD is proud to help out with this event and to provide a place to safely and anonymously drop off these drugs!”
The Canby Police Department is located at 1175 NW 3rd Avenue.
Over the past 17 prior years, the Drug Enforcement Agency has collected more than 11 million pounds (almost 6,000 tons) of expired, unused and unwanted prescription medications through its Take Back Day events, helping to keep them out of the home, where they are vulnerable to misuse, theft or abuse by family members and visitors, including children and teens.
The Pacific Northwest has an all-time record with 215 collection sites currently registered for this event. Last April, residents of Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Alaska turned in 37,926 pounds (19 tons) of prescription medications. This was the second highest collection to date for the Pacific Northwest and record collections for Idaho and Alaska.
For the first time, DEA will now accept vaping devices and cartridges at any of its drop off locations during National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. It is important to note that DEA cannot accept devices containing lithium ion batteries. If batteries cannot be removed prior to drop-off, DEA encourages individuals to consult with stores that recycle lithium ion batteries.
For more information, visit takebackday.dea.gov.
