Residents will have an opportunity to get rid of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs this weekend during National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.
Newport Beach Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration will be accepting the pills at the Oasis Senior Center in Corona del Mar on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
This is an opportunity for the public to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of these drugs, NBPD spokeswoman Kathy Lowe wrote in a statement.
The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
The DEA works with local agencies across the country on the take-back days in an effort to lower prescription drug abuse and accidental poisonings and overdoses in the U.S.
“Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse,” Lowe wrote.
Throwing away or flushing expired or unused medicines pose potential safety and health hazards, according to the statement.
About 276 tons of prescription drugs were turned in nationwide during the take-back event last April, contributing to the total 775 tons of pills collected by the DEA and local partners in the previous four events.
For more information, visit dea.gov.
