On Saturday, April 22, 2023, from 10 am to 2 pm, the Snoqualmie Police Department and the U. S. Drug Enforcement Administration will give the public its 24th opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs.
Bring your pills for disposal to the Snoqualmie Fire Station at 37600 SE Snoqualmie Parkway. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
The DEA will not accept illicit drugs such as marijuana or methamphetamine, intra-venous solutions, injectables, inhalers, syringes, chemotherapy medications, thermometers containing mercury, oxygen containers, pressurized canisters, vaping devices that have non-removable batteries. Medical waste WILL NOT be accepted due to potential hazard posed by blood-borne pathogens.
Last winter Americans turned in approximately 324 tons of prescription drugs at more than 4,900 sites operated by the DEA and almost 4,340 sites operated by state and local law enforcement partners. Overall, in its previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners have taken in almost 17 million pounds of pills.
This initiative addresses a vital public health and safety 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.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows year after year that the majority of misused and abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including someone else’s medication being stolen 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 April 22 Take Back Day event, visit www.DEATakeBack.com.