CCB MEDIA PHOTO
Boxes piled up at Yarmouth police headquarters with up millions of dollars in unused prescription drugs
YARMOUTH – Residents will have the opportunity to dispose of unwanted prescription medications Saturday as part of National Drug Take Back Day.
It will mark the twelfth time in the last six years the DEA and police departments have participated in the nationwide effort for people to rid their homes of potentially dangerous expired and unwanted medications.
In April, citizens across the country turned in 447 tons, over 893,00 pounds, of prescription drugs at almost 5,400 sites operated by the DEA and more than 4,200 state and local police agencies.
The six year total of drugs collected is over 6.4 million pounds which is about 3,200 tons.
Yarmouth Deputy Police Chief Steven Xiarhos says these drugs can cause many problems when they are misused.
“They just sit there and can be used, unfortunately, by family members who shouldn’t be using them and can be accessed by children in a mistake type situation,” Xiarhos said. “It can also be the target of criminals that are breaking in or trying to steal drugs to support their habit and or sell them.”
Improper disposal can also cause health and environmental issues.
“Some people actually dump them in the toilet which is a very bad thing to do and we don’t want to affect our water supply anywhere on Cape Cod,” Xiarhos said.
Throwing unwanted medications in the trash also poses safety and health concerns.
Yarmouth police have a drug drop off box where medications can be disposed of anytime with no questions asked.
Several police departments across the Cape will participate Saturday and residents should contact their local department to find out what times they can drop off the medications.
By BRIAN MERCHANT, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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