On September 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Buffalo County Sherriff’s Office, along with volunteers from CHI Health Good Samaritan, Kearney/Holdrege Elk’s Lodge #984, Positive Pressure, and Two Rivers Public Health Department, will give community members their ninth opportunity in three years to prevent medication abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous, expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. Bring your pills for disposal to CHI Health Good Samaritan’s north parking lot at the intersection of 35th Street and A Ave. (The DEA cannot accept liquids or needles or sharps, only pills or patches.) The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

Last year, Buffalo County residents turned in nearly 600 pounds of prescription drugs, bringing the total amount of prescription drugs turned in by Buffalo County residents to 3,624 pounds.

It was announced earlier this year that there would be no more prescription take-backs

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards.

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