DEA promotes proper drug disposal, collects unused and expired drugs from locals
Saturday was ‘National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day,’ and the Drug Enforcement Agency held a “no questions asked” drug take-back program at both the Palm Springs and Indio police stations.
The DEA collected several boxes of unused and expired drugs brought by members of the community as part of their annual program.
“I really just had some expired antibiotics and I know it’s not good for the environment and so I thought this would be the best way to get rid of them,” said Martin Garment, who participated in drug take-back program.
“I just want to do the right thing…because some of this stuff…I wouldn’t want it to get into the wrong hands. And I didn’t really know what to do with it, but I didn’t want to put it in the trash can,” said Marlene Clark, who also participated.
The DEA says it’s extremely important for people to dispose of medication safely. Many people are tempted to simply throw out old meds in the trash, or even worse, to flush them directly down the drain. The DEA says the drugs can get into our water supply, and disposing of medication improperly can have serious and harmful effects on our environment.
“The Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration identified the fact that people were disposing of their medicines by putting them down the sink, flushing them down the toilet or putting them in garbage cans…which end up in a landfill and could leak into the water supply,” said Daniel Dobas, a Group Supervisor with the DEA task force in Palm Springs.
Disposing of medication properly is also an important step in preventing drug addiction and abuse.
The DEA reports that 75% of heroin addicts start on prescription pills — many addicts getting pills from the medicine cabinets of family or friends.
“We obviously want to avoid that. Because once you get into heroin, you’re getting into the cartels. And we really want to avoid any kind of addiction and stop it before it even starts,” said Michael Miller, a Group Supervisor with the Riverside DEA tactical diversion squad.
For those unable to participate in today’s drug take-back program, the DEA says there are plenty of ways to properly dispose of medication safely all year round: many local pharmacies and police departments have containers where you can throw out those unwanted meds at any point in the year.
The Riverside County Department of Waste Resources has a useful search feature online where you can find a safe disposal center closest to you.
Download the KESQ & CBS Local 2 app on iTunes or Google Play for up-to-the-minute breaking news alerts & more
More: I-Team and Stands for You investigations
Find us on Facebook: KESQ News Channel 3 & CBS Local 2
Follow us on Twitter for breaking news updates: @KESQ & @Local2
We’re on Instagram! @KESQ_News_Channel_3 & @CBSLocal2
Noticias en español: Telemundo 15
