Drug Take Back Event on Saturday

The Crescenta Valley Drug and Alcohol Prevention Coalition, in partnership with the Drug Enforcement Administration, will sponsor a prescription drug take back event on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at three local collection points: CVS Pharmacy in Montrose, Rite-Aid Pharmacy in La Crescenta and the CV Sheriff’s Station, 4554 Briggs Ave. in La Crescenta.

This is an opportunity to clean out your medicine cabinet and safely dispose of unused, unwanted or expired medications. This free, no questions asked service helps keep the environment – and families – safe. Think about older family members that might benefit from this event.  Aging parents or grandparents may confuse replacement or expired medication for current medication. Gather up those prescriptions and over the counter medications and drop them off this Saturday.

According to a recent newspaper article, prescription drug deaths now outnumber traffic fatalities in the U.S.  The death toll has doubled in the last decade, now claiming a life every 14 minutes.

Almost everyone has a bottle or two of some medication prescribed by a doctor or dentist that is sitting on the medicine cabinet shelf. It may have been intended to relieve pain for an extracted tooth or pulled muscle that has long since healed. However, in hands of a teen it can be a disaster.

According to DEA statistics, every day, on average, 2,500 teens use prescription drugs to get high for the first time and one in seven teens admit to abusing prescription drugs in the past year to get high. Sixty percent of teens who abused prescription pain relievers did so before the age of 15. Fifty-six percent of teens believe that prescription drugs are easier to get than illicit drugs. Two in five teens believe that prescription drugs are “much safer” than illegal drugs.  And three in 10 teens believe that prescription pain relievers are not addictive.

Think about how many people have access to your medicine cabinet. Family, friends, teens, friends of your teen, neighbors, and the list goes on. Dave Meyers, a local pharmacy owner, presented information at the CVDAPC board meeting, reminding everyone to treat prescriptions as valuables and lock them up.

National DEA take back events are held every six months. Visit one of the three locations on Saturday to safely dispose of medicines no longer needed. In addition to this event, the CV Sheriff’s station has secure post office-style drop off bins available 24/7 located outside the main entrance where you can anonymously dispose of unwanted prescriptions, medicines and drugs.

Awareness and action are key components to stopping accidental misuse and intentional abuse of prescription medications.

We look forward to seeing you this Saturday.

Susan Dubin is the interim executive director of the CVDAPC. She can be reached at susan@cvdapc.org.