County residents can return unwanted prescription drugs to law enforcement on Oct. 26

5 years ago

MAINE — The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency’s National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Saturday, Oct. 26, and law enforcement agencies from throughout Maine will serve as collection sites.

National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of unwanted, unneeded prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications.  For the first time, collection sites will accept vaping devices and associated substances.

Local law enforcement agencies will participate as collection agents. In Aroostook County, residents with prescription drugs to dispose of may visit the Caribou, Fort Fairfield, Fort Kent, Houlton, Limestone, Madawaska, Presque Isle or Van Buren police departments, or the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office in Houlton.

At a previous Take-Back Event in April 2019, federal, state, and local government entities took back 937,443 pounds of unused, expired, or unwanted drugs at more than 6,200 locations across the United States.  Over the course of the program, 11,816,393 pounds of prescription drugs have been safely collected across the country, including more than 380,937,257 pounds of medication in Maine alone.