To prevent medicinal drugs from contaminating public water systems, the Richardson Police Department is hosting a Drug Take Back Day on Saturday.
The event is part of the biannual National Prescription Drug Take Back Day program, which aims to combat drug misuse. In April, the program collected 420 tons of drugs nationally, according to the federal Drug Enforcement Agency’s program website.
Richardson residents are encouraged to clean out their medicine cabinets and bring any unused or expired drugs to the event — from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the police substation at 2003 E. Renner Rd. — for proper disposal.
The event aims to keep medications from being flushed down a drain or toilet, which could cause them to enter a public waterway, or from being thrown in the trash, where pets, children or others could potentially find and misuse them.
In 2019, about 9.7 million people misused prescription pain relievers, according to the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. In the same year, about 4.9 million people misused prescription stimulants, and 5.9 million people misused prescription tranquilizers or sedatives.
A majority of misused prescription drugs were often obtained through the home medicine cabinet of friends or family, according to the survey.
The police department will be accepting all solid-dosage pharmaceutical products and liquids in tightly sealed consumer containers. It will not accept intravenous (taken through the veins) solutions, injectables or syringes because of the risks posed by blood-borne pathogens.
