PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The Presque Isle Police Department will host National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on Friday, Oct. 28.
The department has a collection bin for the safe disposal of unwanted medications. People may bring their unused or expired prescription drugs to the Police Department for dropoff that day — or any day year round.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration holds two national take-back days each year, one in April and one in October.
DEA Special Agent in Charge Brad L. Byerley said, “Prescription medications often end up in the wrong hands, feeding an addiction epidemic that is killing Americans at record rates. It’s absolutely critical that we all do our part in ridding our homes of these unused medications and dispose of them safely at these drug take-back events or at permanent drop sites throughout the year.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that in the United States, over 107,000 people died as the result of a drug overdose last year. This figure means that someone in the United States is dying of a drug overdose every 5 minutes.
Take Back Day events provide easy, no-cost opportunities to dispose of medicines stored in the home that are susceptible to abuse and theft.
