The Michigan City Police will participate in the 2014 National Pill Take Back Day, which is scheduled for Saturday, April 26th in the lobby of the Michigan City Police Department. The Michigan City Police is a proud sponsor of this program year round and our Pill Drop Box in our lobby is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day will be manned by the DEA from 10:00am to 2:00pm, and as a partner we aim to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications.
According to the 2011 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), twice as many Americans regularly abused prescription drugs than the number of those who regularly used cocaine, hallucinogens, heroin, and inhalants combined. That same study revealed more than 70 percent of people abusing prescription pain relievers got them through friends or relatives, a statistic that includes raiding the family medicine cabinet.
The DEA’s Take-Back events are a significant piece of the White House’s prescription drug abuse prevention strategy released in 2011 by the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Disposal of unwanted, unused or expired drugs is one of four strategies for reducing prescription drug abuse and diversion laid out in Epidemic: Responding to America’s Prescription Drug Abuse Crisis. The other strategies include education of health care providers, patients, parents and youth; enhancing and encouraging the establishment of prescription drug monitoring programs in all the states; and increased enforcement to address doctor shopping and pill mills.
Needles and syringes cannot be accepted in the drop boxes but can be safely disposed of by placing them in empty two liter bottles and taking them to the La Porte County Solid Waste District office which is located at 2857 West State Road 2, La Porte. Liquid medicines can be disposed of by pouring the unwanted liquid into a container containing cat litter or coffee grounds. The container can then be placed in a trash receptacle for collection by a licensed waste hauler. This method is approved by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).