On April 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the Antelope County Sheriff’s Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will give the public another opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription and over-the-counter drugs.
Bring your medications for disposal to the Antelope County Sheriff’s office at 205 East 6th Street in Neligh. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
Last September, Americans turned in 552,161 pounds — 276 tons — of drugs at nearly 5,600 sites operated by the DEA and more than 4,300 state and local law enforcement partners. Over 5,400 pounds came from Nebraskans. In five previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners took in over 2 million pounds — over a 1,000 tons — of medications. Almost 15,000 pounds (7.5 tons) came from Nebraska.
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.
