East Hartford Police & Health Departments Take Back Unwanted Prescription Drugs

October 27, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the East Hartford Public Safety Complex
Drug Take Back

The next National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day will be Saturday, October 27, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and the East Hartford Police Department, the East Hartford Health Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration are giving the public a safe, convenient, and responsible way to dispose of unused or expired prescription drugs.  Help prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding your home of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs.  Bring your pills for disposal to the East Hartford Public Safety Complex at 31 School Street, East Hartford.  (The DEA cannot accept liquids or needles or sharps, only pills or patches.)  The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

This past spring’s Take-Back Day event collected 949,046 pounds of prescription drugs. The Drug Enforcement Administration first launched its Take-Back Day in 2010, and since then has collected nearly 10 million pounds of medicine from the public.

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.

For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or about the October 27th Take Back Day event, check DEA's official Take Back Day website.