Newport Beach Police Department will be partnering with the Drug Enforcement Administration on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.
People can drop off their potentially-dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs to the NBPD at two locations: The Newport Coast Community Center and Hoag Hospital’s Sunset View Parking Lot.
This event gives the public an opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by removing the prescription drugs from their homes, NBPD explained in a community message emailed through Nixle on Tuesday.
“The service is free and anonymous; no questions asked,” the message reads.
Last May, nearly 5,400 sites throughout the country participated in the event. Nationwide, the DEA and its partner agencies accepted 447 tons (over 893,000 pounds) of prescription drugs in May, and almost 6.5 million pounds in all eleven Drug Take-Back events to date.
These are medicines languishing in home cabinets, highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. The traditional methods of disposing of unused medicines—like flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—pose potential safety and health hazards, but the take-back day is a safe and straightforward solution.
For more information, visit dea.gov.
