National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, April 30, 2016

            United States Attorney ALICIA A.G. LIMTIACO, U.S. Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands (NMI), together with Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Resident Agent in Charge Michael Puralewski, announced that the next National Prescription Drug Take Back Day will be on Saturday, April 30, 2016, from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM.

            The following sites have been designated to receive unused prescription drugs:

•  Naval Base Guam (Navy Exchange Food Court)
• Agana Shopping Center (Across Vitamin World)
• Agat Village Mayor's Office
• Andersen Air Force Base (Exchange & Commissary)
• Dededo Village Mayor’s Office
• Rota Health Center
• Saipan Commonwealth Health Center
• Tinian Health Center

We would like to remind the public that:

• Unused or expired prescription medications are a public safety issue, leading to accidental poisoning, overdose, and abuse.
• Pharmaceutical drugs can be just as dangerous as street drugs when taken without a prescription or a doctor’s supervision.
• The non-medical use of prescription drugs ranks second only to marijuana as the most common form of drug abuse in America.
• The majority of teenagers abusing prescription drugs get them from family and friends – and the home medicine cabinet.
• Unused prescription drugs thrown in the trash can be retrieved and abused or illegally sold. Unused drugs that are flushed contaminate the water supply. Proper disposal of unused drugs saves lives and protects the environment.
• Take-back programs are the best way to dispose of old drugs.

            The first National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day event was held nationwide in September 2010.  Guam and the NMI have participated every year since.  The purpose of the National Drug Take-Back Initiative is to help prevent increased pill abuse and theft, to encourage the public to rid their household of unused prescription drugs that pose a safety hazard and can contribute to prescription drug abuse, and to provide a venue for persons who want to dispose of unwanted and unused prescription drugs for safe disposal by DEA.

            For more information on prescription drug abuse, go to:  www.dea.gov, www.getsmartaboutdrugs.com, or www.justthinktwice.com.