KEEPING DRUGS OUT OF THE WRONG HANDS
When Consumer Reports surveyed 1,000 adults about prescription drugs, it found 25 percent of them did not dispose of them when they were no longer taking them, and only 20 percent of those surveyed locked up prescription drugs.
If they are disposed of, most people throw them out with the trash or flush them. Neither of these disposal methods are safe. A 2016 Environmental Protection Agency study of the 50 largest water utilities revealed that every sample tested positive for a least one prescription drug.
The Drug Enforcement Administration’s “National Prescription Drug Take Back Day” is an effort to safely get those drugs out of the home, to keep them out of the hands of children or people who might misuse them, as well as out of the water supply.
It’s a public health concern the DEA, Minden Police Department and the Caddo and Bossier sheriff’s offices will work toward eliminating this Saturday, April 29, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“During the take back event in 2016, nationally the DEA and over 4,200 of its state, local and tribal law enforcement partners collected 893,498 pounds (about 447 tons) of unwanted medicines at almost 5,400 sites spread through all 50 states, beating its previous high of 390 tons in the spring of 2014 by 57 tons, or more than 114,000 pounds,” said Paul Seale, resident agent in charge of the DEA Shreveport Resident Office.
This event, held just twice each year, allows individuals to drop off any drugs, no questions asked and no forms to fill out, at drive-up locations.
Both prescription and over-thecounter drugs will be accepted at the following locations:
• Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office, 2510 Viking Drive, Bossier City.
• Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Safety Town, parking lot of Summer Grove Baptist Church, 8910 Jewella Ave., Shreveport.
• Louisiana State Police Troup G, 5300 Industrial Drive, Bossier City.
• Minden Police Department, 520 Broadway Street, Minden. Participation in this effort helps remove these potential hazards from homes, landfills and the water supply. For more information, call 1-800-882-9539.
– Staff
