Sheppard AFB Security Forces are Taking Back Unwanted Prescription Drugs

  • Published
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  On April 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Sheppard AFB Clinic Pharmacy and April 28 from 10 a.m. to 2 pm., at the Main Exchange; the 82 Security Forces Squadron and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will give the public another opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous, expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. This service is free and totally anonymous; no questions asked.

Last October, Americans turned in 377,080 pounds--188.5 tons--of prescription drugs at over 5,300 sites operated by the DEA and nearly 4,000 state and local law enforcement partners. In its three previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners took in almost a million pounds--nearly 500 tons--of pills.

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. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family, friends, and 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--pose potential safety and health hazards.

Four days after the first event, Congress passed the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, which amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow an "ultimate user" of controlled substance medications to dispose of them by delivering them to entities authorized by the Attorney General to accept them. The Act also allows the Attorney General to authorize long term care facilities to dispose of their residents' controlled substances in certain instances. DEA is drafting regulations to implement the Act, a process that could take as long as 24 months. So, until the new regulations are in place, local law enforcement agencies and the DEA will continue to hold prescription drug Take-Back events.

Facts about the drop off:

  • This program is anonymous.
     
  • 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. 
     
  • No effort will be made by law enforcement personnel to count, inventory or log medications.
     
  • All solid dosage pharmaceutical product and liquids in consumer containers will be accepted. Liquid products, such as cough syrup, should remain sealed in their original container. The depositor should ensure that the cap is tightly sealed to prevent leakage.
     
  • 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. If an individual attempts to surrender an illicit controlled substance, law enforcement personnel will handle such material as abandoned property in accordance with department policy.
     
  • A law enforcement officer will remain with the drug disposal box at all times.
For more information visit www.dea.gov, or contact Det. Raymond Ramsey at 676-2207.