The opportunity to get rid of unwanted prescription drugs will be available on Saturday, April 22, during the Annual Drug Take Back Day, under the coordination of the City of Chula Vista Office of Sustainability, the Chula Vista Police Department, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
The City of Chula Vista announced that this is a free and anonymous event, with no questions asked, that will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the parking lot of the Chula Vista Shopping Center, near the Macy's store.
The community has been asked not to carry liquids, needles, or sharp objects since they will only receive pills or patches.
In addition to this annual event, led by the DEA, this agency announced that "there are many other ways to properly dispose of unwanted prescription drugs every day, including the 11,000 authorized collectors who are available throughout the year at collection sites which can be located at https://apps2.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubdispsearch/spring/main?execution=e1 "
Similarly, it was reported that “in October 2022, Americans delivered 324 tons of prescription drugs to nearly 5,000 sites operated by the DEA and nearly 4,400 of its state and local law enforcement partners. The DEA, along with its law enforcement partners, have collected 8,318 tons of expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs since the inception of the National Prescription Drug Take Back Initiative in 2010.”
"This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health problem," the DEA has indicated through a government press release.
"Medicines that expire or are stored in household cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse,"warns the agency.
“Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Medicines that are improperly disposed of in the trash or down the toilet also pose an environmental hazard to people and animals.”
For more information on how to properly discard prescription drugs or about the Take Back Day event on April 22, see https://takebackday.dea.gov/
