Full-Time Drug Take Back Program Now Available

The Bellefontaine Police Department in partnership with Mary Rutan Hospital, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration now has a full-time opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs.

Thanks to Mary Rutan Hospital, there is now a medication drop box in the lobby of the police department. The site cannot accept liquids or needles/sharps. Pills and patches will be accepted. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows year after year that the majority of misused and abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including someone else’s medication being stolen from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards.

For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs, go to www.DEATakeBack.com
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