National Rx Drug "Take-Back" Day @ Redding Center Fire Department

On Saturday, October 29 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the CT DEA, Redding Police Department & Redding's Local Prevention Council, the Easton Redding Community Care Coalition, will give the public another opportunity to prevent Rx  and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription medications. Drop-off your medications for safe disposal the Redding Center Fire Department. The service is free & anonymous, no questions asked.

Last April, Americans turned in 376,593 pounds—188 tons—of prescription drugs at nearly 5,400 sites operated by the DEA and more than 3,000 state and local law enforcement partners. 

This initiative addresses vital public safety and public health issues. Studies show that a majority of abused Rx drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet where they are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse.  Community Take-Backs serve to provide a better option than our usual methods of disposal which include flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash. Community Take-Backs also serve to increase community awareness of a complicated and growing problem.

Rates of Rx drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high and we're seeing an unprecedented use of the private & public health systems for detoxification, emergency room visits and addiction treatment. Last year, 39,000 Americans died of preventable overdose making it the the number two cause of accidental deaths in our country (only car  kill more). In CT and 10 other states however, Rx medications (particularly opiods) are the number one cause of accidental death and the number one cause of all deaths in the age group 18-44 years. It is interesting to note that overdose rates can be directly correlated to the number of legal prescrptions written per zip code and healthcare professionals are scrambling to respond to this epidemic.

Learn more at www.dea.gov  & www.hvcasa.org