PRESS RELEASE
Vermont Sheriff's Association, Through a DEA Initiative, Are Taking Back Unwanted Prescription Drugs on April 28
Sheriff Roger Marcoux, President, Vermont Sheriff's Association, 802-888-3502
Waterbury, Vermont - 4/26/2012 - On April 28 from 10AM to 2PM the Vermont Sheriff's Association, with the support of several local police departments and the Vermont State Police, through a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) initiative, will give the public another opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. Bring your medications for disposal to one of the nearly 50 drop off locations in Vermont. A full list of registered drop off locations in Vermont is available at
http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
"This initiative addresses a vital public safety issue," said Sheriff Roger Marcoux, President of the Vermont Sheriff's Association. "Expired, unused, and unwanted medicines that linger in home cabinets are highly susceptible to misuse and abuse."
Last October, Americans turned in more than 377,086 pounds (188.5 tons) of unwanted or expired medications for safe and proper disposal at the 5,327 take-back sites that were available in all 50 states and U.S. territories. In Vermont, over 1,000 pounds of prescriptions drugs were collected statewide during the October 2011 National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.
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.
