Danville Police are pleased with the turnout at Saturday’s prescription drug “Take-back Day.” A total of 250 pounds of potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs were collected.
The event was held in the parking lot of Centra Danville Medical Center at 414 Park Ave.
The Police Department worked in partnership with the Danville Sheriff’s Office, Pittsylvania County Sheriff’s Office and the Regional Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention. Take-back events also were held at three locations in the county: Food Lion parking lot at the Tuscarora Shopping Center, the Sheriff’s Office at 21 North Main St. in Chatham, and the Food Lion Shopping Center parking lot on Vaden Street in Gretna.
The drug take-back 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. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs is obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.
In addition, Americans now are 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.
