Full Notification

DEA National Prescription Take Back Day.

On Saturday, October 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the San Gabriel Police Department and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will give the public its 18th opportunity in nine years 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 San Gabriel PD at the 625 S. Del Mar Ave., San Gabriel Ca. (Sites cannot accept liquids or needles or sharps, only pills or patches.) A drop off box will be placed at the front of the police station for collection. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

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. 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 further information regarding the event, contact Captain Riki Nakamura at 626.308.2844 or [email protected].