On Saturday, Oct. 27, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Danville Police Department, in partnership with other local and state law enforcement agencies, will give citizens the opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs.
Bring your medications for disposal to the parking lot of Centra Medical at 414 Park Ave. Police officers will be present to collect expired or unused medications with no questions asked. The service is free.
The police department is working in partnership with the Danville Sheriff’s Office, Pittsylvania County Sheriff’s Office and the Regional Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention. Take back events also are being held at three locations in the county: Food Lion parking lot at the Tuscarora Shopping Center, the Sheriff’s Office at 21 North Main St. in Chatham, and the Food Lion Shopping Center parking lot on Vaden Street in Gretna.
The drug take-back 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 is obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.
In addition, Americans now are 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.