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National Drug Take Back Day is this Saturday

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Police Chief Jack Peck with the Farmington Police Department’s drug drop box. Tomorrow is National Drug Take Back Day.

FARMINGTON – Local police departments will be participating in the National Drug Take Back Initiative this Saturday, April 29, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Residents are welcome to bring their unwanted medications and dispose of them safely, with no questions asked.

Controlled, non-controlled and over the counter substances may be collected at the FCSO office, located on County Way Drive off the Fairbanks Road in Farmington, as well as the Richard E. Caton III Memorial Station in Farmington at 116 Franklin Avenue; Jay, at 340 Main Street; and the Rangeley Police Department, at 15 School Street.

The program is anonymous and no questions or requests for identification will be made.

The previous 10-plus events, which began in 2010, collect old, expired, unused prescription medication. Last year’s events collected nearly 450 tons of medication at 5,400 sites across the United States. Unwanted and/or expired medicines are highly susceptible to misuse and abuse, according to health and law enforcement agencies that track the numbers of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to those drugs. Nationally, more than 60,000 young children a year end up in the emergency department because they got into medication when their parent or caregiver was not looking. Nearly 15 percent of Maine teens said they have taken a prescription drug not prescribed to them—sometimes from a family member.

The take back program offers an alternative to flushing drugs, which could potentially enter the drinking water system. All collected drugs are incinerated to protect the environment.

Participants may dispose of medication in its original container or by removing the medication from its container and disposing of it directly into the disposal box. If an original container is submitted, the individual should be encouraged to remove any identifying information from the prescription label. All solid dosage pharmaceutical products, as well as expired vitamins and pet medication, will be accepted.

Intra-venous solutions, injectibles, and syringes will not be accepted due to potential hazard posed by blood-borne pathogens. Illicit substances such as marijuana or methamphetamine are not a part of this initiative and should not be placed in collection containers.

In addition to the National Take Back Day event, there are also med return boxes available in Franklin County, one at the Farmington Police Department and one at the Jay Police Department. Residents can drop off their expired or unused prescription medication any time during normal business hours at either location.

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1 Comment

  1. I hate to admit this but I was one who did at one point flush some pain medication down my toilet because I have a 19 year old teenager in the house and his buddies . I was afraid they’d get a hold of them . I was very pleased to read this article in the paper and have the opportunity to drop off my medication I was no longer using . Thanks for that opportunity.

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