EUGENE, Ore. — On Saturday, October 22, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Lane Community College Public Safety and the Drug Enforcement Administration will give the public its 12th opportunity in six years to prevent pill abuse and theft by dropping off potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs for safe disposal.
Anyone can bring unwanted prescriptions to the semi-annual Prescription Drug Take-Back Day at two LCC locations: Main Campus in front of the Center for Meeting and Learning, Building 19, and the Downtown Campus, at 101 W. 10th Avenue in Eugene.
The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
Medications, including veterinary, will be accepted (excluding liquids, needles or sharps).
At the last event, Oregon DEA staff collected more than 11,200 lbs. of disposed drugs from 77 participating agencies in Oregon and Idaho, including Lane Community College.
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 U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including 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 or about the October 22 Take Back Day event, go to the DEA Diversion website: https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/index.html
For more information about Lane Community College:
Lane is an AA/EEO/Veterans/Disabilities Employer
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