The Issaquah Police Department, in partnership with the DEA, is hosting an event to take back old or leftover medicine from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. In addition, Issaquah residents only can drop off their unused or expired medications anytime from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday (excluding holidays) at the police department after April 30.
The Police Department is located at Issaquah City Hall, 130 E. Sunset Way.
National Drug Take Back Day highlights the critical need for ongoing and sustainable safe drug disposal programs to reduce the rising rates of prescription drug abuse, overdoses, and accidental poisonings.
Sponsored by the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) with local law enforcement agencies, the one-day event provides communities with free, anonymous medicine returns for unused medications, including dangerous controlled substances. Take-back programs also help protect the environment, while they safeguard public health.
In Washington state, poisonings are the leading cause of accidental deaths, surpassing car crashes and falls, according to a 2010 study from the Washington State Department of Health. While single-day events like the DEA’s National Drug Take Back Day help reduce these risks, the Take Back Your Meds coalition contends that Washington state needs an ongoing solution to address the serious, long-term problem.
The group is comprised of local law enforcement agencies, health organizations, drugstores, local governments, environmental groups and community organizations that support a statewide medicine take-back program financed by pharmaceutical manufacturers, instead of by local governments and tax dollars.
Each year, Washington state spends $31.7 million to hospitalize and treat children for unintentional poisonings from medicines ($16.2), cover emergency room costs for kids who accidentally ingested medications ($9.3) and on expenses for children who have overdosed ($6.2). Additionally, there are environmental risks that occur when people flush medicines down drains or toilets, or put them in the trash. Improper drug disposal creates environmental contaminants that threaten water quality, aquatic species, and the soil.
Only 14 Washington counties have a handful of temporary drug take-back programs, which are funded by law enforcement agencies, pharmacies, or community groups. Take Back Your Meds supporters argue that drug manufacturers who produce medicines should provide an ongoing take-back system, as a part of their cost of doing business. This would protect Washington communities and the Puget Sound from the health and environmental hazards that unused medicines create, they say.
For only 1 penny for every $16 in drug sales, pharmaceutical companies could easily fund a convenient, ongoing state take-back program backers say. Similar programs already exist in Canada.
This past March, the Washington State Legislature failed to pass a bill for a secure medicine take-back program, which would have been the first statewide program in the nation.
To learn more about Take Back Your Meds visit www.takebackyourmeds.org. To find temporary take-back programs near Bellevue if you miss the April 30 event visit www.takebackyourmeds.org.
Additional information on facilities accepting unused or old prescription and over-the-counter medicines can be found at www.takebackyourmeds.org/dea-events.
