By Mary O’KEEFE

Saturday is the eighth nationwide Drug Take Back Day that will provide locations throughout the Crescenta Valley for those who want to drop off unwanted and expired prescription in a safe manner.

The YMCA of the Foothills is partnering with the Drug Enforcement Agency, Glendale Police Dept. and Los Angeles County Sheriffs Dept. for the event.

“The National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications,” according to the DEA website.

“The numbers are shocking – approximately 46,000 Americans die each year from drug-related deaths. More than half of those are from heroin and prescription opioids,” stated Acting DEA Administrator Chuck Rosenberg in a press release. “With four out of five new heroin users starting with prescription medications, I know our take-back program makes a real difference.”

At a recent seminar hosted by the LASD – Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station, Angelique Shirvanian, program director with Action Family Counseling, reminded the audience of a commercial that begged parents and grandparents not to be their child’s “drug supplier.”

Shirvanian said she has seen an increase in kids addicted to prescription drugs going through Action.

It is important to dispose of unwanted prescription drugs safely; this does not mean flushing them through the sewer system but to take them to a drop off center like the receptacles at the CV Sheriff’s Station.

Unwanted, unused or expired prescription pills, ointments or drops can be brought to the following locations below between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday: Crescenta-Cañada Family YMCA, 1930 Foothill Blvd., La Cañada;

Crescenta Valley Famiy YMCA, 3931 Lowell Ave., La Crescenta; CVS Pharmacy, 2037 Verdugo Road, Montrose; CVS Pharmacy, 1122 E. Broadway, Glendale; Smart n Final, 1855 W. Glenoaks Blvd., Glendale; Glendale Community College, 1500 N. Verdugo Road, Glendale; Rite Aid, 2647 Foothill Blvd., La Crescenta; Sheriff’s Station, 4554 Briggs Ave., La Crescenta.

  Mary Okeefe