FAST FACTS
• WHAT: Prescription Drug Take Back Program
• WHEN: This Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• WHERE: Manteca Police, 1001 W. Center St.
• COST: Free, no questions asked
Unused or expired prescription drugs may be safely discarded on Saturday outside the Manteca Police Department at the Civic Center, 1001 West Center Street.
The time is 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. for the Prescription Drug Take-Back Program under the direction of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Manteca Police Department.
Manteca Police Captain Charlie Goeken said that no questions will be asked and the service in Manteca and around the country will be cost free to the citizenry.
“This is an opportunity to safely empty out your medicine cabinets of the drugs you don’t need any more or that have expired, including prescription drugs that contain controlled substances,” he said.
Goeken said when people toss their drugs into the receiving barrel, there will be no request for identification. He said the members of the public will only be asked to get out of their cars and walk the medications to the front door of the police department and deposit them in the receptacle. The parking lot should be empty, because the return is set for Saturday – a non-work day for city workers.
The drug barrels are being dropped off by the DEA and that agency is scheduled to return to pick them back up from the police department. One reserve police officer is required to be on duty at the site.
One in eight prescription drugs contain active ingredients that the federal government limits in distribution and handles in a special and secure way.
These drugs include opiates like Vicodin, Percocet, OxyContin, and codeine cough syrup and stimulants such as Adderall, Ritalin and Dexedrine. Sedatives and tranquilizers on the list include Valium, Xanax and Ambien.
The DEA has warned citizens not to dispose of drugs by throwing them down a toilet as it can contaminate waterways. Recent studies by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have detected pharmaceutical drugs in varying concentrations in the nation’s water supplies.
Drugs that can be flushed will indicate such action. ONDCP and FDA both list on their websites the drugs that can be flushed. The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) does not allow pharmacists to take back controlled substances.
The DEA has collaborated with local law enforc4ement and community partners on several prior take backs – never involved in a nationwide event. The agency last year participated with several sheriffs’ departments and the State Bureau of Investigation in North Carolina collecting more than 144,000 dosage units of expired and unused prescription medications.
Last November the DEA collected over 9,000 pounds of pharmaceuticals from more than 440 municipalities in New Jersey’s 21 counties.
Citizens with questions about the drug return program may call Captain Goeken at 456-8155. The DEA website is at www.dea.gov.
The time is 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. for the Prescription Drug Take-Back Program under the direction of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Manteca Police Department.
Manteca Police Captain Charlie Goeken said that no questions will be asked and the service in Manteca and around the country will be cost free to the citizenry.
“This is an opportunity to safely empty out your medicine cabinets of the drugs you don’t need any more or that have expired, including prescription drugs that contain controlled substances,” he said.
Goeken said when people toss their drugs into the receiving barrel, there will be no request for identification. He said the members of the public will only be asked to get out of their cars and walk the medications to the front door of the police department and deposit them in the receptacle. The parking lot should be empty, because the return is set for Saturday – a non-work day for city workers.
The drug barrels are being dropped off by the DEA and that agency is scheduled to return to pick them back up from the police department. One reserve police officer is required to be on duty at the site.
One in eight prescription drugs contain active ingredients that the federal government limits in distribution and handles in a special and secure way.
These drugs include opiates like Vicodin, Percocet, OxyContin, and codeine cough syrup and stimulants such as Adderall, Ritalin and Dexedrine. Sedatives and tranquilizers on the list include Valium, Xanax and Ambien.
The DEA has warned citizens not to dispose of drugs by throwing them down a toilet as it can contaminate waterways. Recent studies by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have detected pharmaceutical drugs in varying concentrations in the nation’s water supplies.
Drugs that can be flushed will indicate such action. ONDCP and FDA both list on their websites the drugs that can be flushed. The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) does not allow pharmacists to take back controlled substances.
The DEA has collaborated with local law enforc4ement and community partners on several prior take backs – never involved in a nationwide event. The agency last year participated with several sheriffs’ departments and the State Bureau of Investigation in North Carolina collecting more than 144,000 dosage units of expired and unused prescription medications.
Last November the DEA collected over 9,000 pounds of pharmaceuticals from more than 440 municipalities in New Jersey’s 21 counties.
Citizens with questions about the drug return program may call Captain Goeken at 456-8155. The DEA website is at www.dea.gov.
