Prescription Drug Take Back Day April 30th

The Laramie Police Department will be having their annual Drug Take Back Day on April 30th At Express Pharmacy.

The Drug Take Back Day will give members of the community a chance to get rid of any unused pills and to prevent abuse from using any expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs.

Anyone interested in disposing their unused medication can do so on April 30th at the Express Pharmacy from 10am until 2pm. The service is free to the public and no questions will be asked and anyone returning medications will remain anonymous.

Across the country last year, Americans turned in 242,000 pounds of prescription drugs. Nearly 4,100 sites operated by the DEA and more than 3,000 state and local law enforcement partners participated.

The initiative of the day is to address vital public safety and health issues. Prescriptions that sit for extended amounts of time and become out dated can be highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Prescription drug abuse rates are very high across America. The rate is also high for the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses.

Congress passed the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010 just four days after last falls drug take back day. The Act amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow an "ultimate user" of controlled substance medications to dispose of them by delivering them to entities who are authorized by the Attorney General to accept them. The amendment also allows the Attorney General to authorize long term care facilities to dispose of their residents' controlled substances. The DEA has begun drafting regulations to implement the act.