RUMFORD — Local police officers will set up outside the station from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 28, to receive unused, unwanted or expired prescription drugs for safe disposal, no questions asked.
For those unable to bring their prescriptions at that time, police can received them at the station between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. from now to April 28, Chief Stacy Carter said Friday.
“We will ask no questions about what you bring for disposal,” he said.
“If you want to protect your privacy, you can empty your bottles (except for liquids) into the bin and take the bottles home with you, or you can black out with a marker your personal information on the bottles. We will not be looking at or gathering any personal information.”
The Police Department is partnering with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency in this nationwide initiative to properly dispose of unwanted prescriptions to reduce the risk of accidental overdose by small children or others who mistake them for other medications, he said.
“Maine was ranked No. 1 in the nation per capita for the amount of prescription medication collected during the last two collections,” Carter said. “Maine also ranked first in New England for amount collected at more than 14,000 pounds, so these have been very successful.”
Recent studies by the Environmental Protection Agency and others detected pharmaceutical drugs in varying concentrations in the nation’s water supplies. These drugs should not be flushed down the toilet, he said.
“Only drugs that are so potentially dangerous to people rather than the environment should be flushed,” Carter said.
Such drugs will state on their labels if they are flushable.
Certain drugs can be helpful to some people, but harmful to others.
Additionally, one drug may interact with another that someone is taking in a way that can seriously harm or kill them. It is also illegal to give a controlled substance to someone else.
“However, it is legal for you to give your unwanted medications to law enforcement,” Carter said.
“The DEA is particularly interested in medications containing controlled substances, but we will accept any medicines brought for disposal. Needles will not be accepted,” he said.
The medication will be turned over to DEA to be incinerated according to federal and state environmental guidelines. For more information, visit DEA.gov.
-
- During Maine’s Drug Take-Back Day on Oct. 29, Rumford police Sgt. Tracey Higley emptied pills from one of several prescription bottles dropped off outside the police station on River Street. Rumford police are holding another take-back day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 28, in conjunction with a nationwide initiative.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.