Macon Authorities taking back unwanted prescription drugs October 27 at C&R Market

[Macon, MO] – On Saturday, October 27, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the Macon Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration will give the public its 16th opportunity in 7 years to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. Once again, the Macon Police Department is partnering with the Macon Municipal Utilities, the Macon County Public Water Supply District #1 and Missouri Rural Water Association. The goal is to prevent pill abuse and theft as well as protecting our local environment from these harmful drugs being disposed of improperly. Bring your pills for disposal to C&R Market Parking Lot at 703 E Briggs Drive in Macon, MO. (The DEA cannot accept liquids or needles or sharps, only pills or patches.) 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 more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or about the October 27 Take Back Day event, go to www.DEATakeBack.com or call the Macon Police Department at 660-385-2195.