Drop off old prescriptions for National Prescription Take Back Day

SAN DIEGO (CNS) - People with expired or unneeded prescription drugs can get rid of them safely Saturday by participating in the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's fourth National Prescription Take Back Day.

Law enforcement agencies, military bases, hospitals, universities and businesses across the county will accept dropped-off medications between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., according to the DEA. The service is free and anonymous, with no questions asked.

"Getting these potentially harmful drugs off the streets of our community is an important step in decreasing prescription-drug abuse among our youth," said William Sherman, acting special agent in charge of the DEA's San Diego office.

During the most recent Prescription Take Back Day, in September, authorities collected 7,113 pounds of medications from San Diego and Imperial counties. Nationally, a total of over 188.5 tons of medications was turned in at 5,327 drop-off sites.

Misuse of prescription drugs is a growing problem in the United States, according to medical and law enforcement officials. The substances often fall into the hands of recreational users -- many of them minors raiding their parents' medicine cabinets -- or are improperly discarded, posing public-health risks.

A 2009 national survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found that more than 7 million Americans abused prescription drugs.

Medications may be dropped off at any of the following locations in San Diego County:

Central

-- Mesa College, 7250 Mesa College Dr., Suite Q-100 San Diego;

-- North Park Lions Club, 3927 Utah St., San Diego;

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Drop off old prescriptions for National Prescription Take Back Day