Clean up your cabinets and the environment at Dispose-A-Med event
More than 2,900 pounds of outdated prescription drugs have been properly disposed of at collection events over the past two years. Saturday, you can empty out your cabinets and keep drugs out of the water supply at a Pima County Sheriff's Department Dispose-A-Med collection on the East Side.
You can drop off unused and outdated prescription and over-the-counter drugs between 8 a.m. and noon at Pantano Christian Church, 1755 S. Houghton Rd. There is no charge for the disposal service.
The department sponsors collections to keep drugs out of the hands of teenagers and away from the water supply, a spokesman said.
"Teenagers now abuse prescription drugs more than any other illegal drug except for marijuana," said Deputy Tracy Suitt. "The majority of teens who abuse these drugs get them for free by raiding the medicine cabinet, usually from friends and relatives and often without their knowledge. Storing unused or outdated prescriptions creates an opportunity for illicit use."
Flushing drugs, or pouring them down the sink, isn't a good plan, Suitt said. They "enter the environment because wastewater treatment facilities are not designed to remove them. Studies have shown that pharmaceuticals and over the counter drugs are present in our nation's water bodies and certain drugs may cause ecological harm."
Pills should be placed in plastic bags before bringing them to the collection site, Suitt said. No personal information should be on containers, and metal or glass inhalers, syringes, epi-pens, patches, creams, liquids and diabetic strips will not be accepted.
Drugs will not be accepted from commercial organizations, he said.
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