Las Cruces, NM – On December 14, 2016 from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. the UP! Coalition and the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office (DASO) will have a ribbon cutting to celebrate the placement of a permanent prescription drug drop box. This box will give the community an opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous, expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. For the first time in Doña Ana County you can bring pills for disposal to DASO. (NO liquids or needles or sharps, only pills or patches.) The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked and will be available during normal hours of operation, Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm.
In addition to offering the prescription drug drop box, educational materials on safeguarding all prescription medications in lockboxes at home and parent prescription drug handbooks will be available at the drop site.
Every year, in both spring and fall, the DEA offers communities, through their national prescription drug take-back event, opportunities to clean out and dispose of prescription medications. Last September, Americans turned in 350 tons (over 702,000 pounds) of prescription drugs at more than 5,000 sites operated by the DEA and more than 3,800 of its state and local law enforcement partners. Overall, in its 10 previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners have taken in over 5.5 million pounds—more than 2,750 tons—of pills.
This permanent prescription drug drop box 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 this reason, it is important that residents are aware that as of December 14, 2016 they can take their medications to DASO, during normal operating hours, for proper disposal.
For more information about the permanent prescription drug box and disposal of prescription drugs contact Marisol Diaz, UP! Coalition Program Manager, at (575) 534-0101 xt. 2119 or mdiaz@swchi.org.