Drug ‘take-back’ day set Saturday
Published 12:01 am Friday, April 27, 2012
North Olympic Peninsula residents can rid themselves of expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs on the national drug “take-back” day Saturday.
Uniformed officers will be at Jim’s Pharmacy, 424 E. Second St. in Port Angeles; the Sequim Police Department, 325 N. Fifth Ave.; and the Port Townsend Safeway at 442 W. Sims Way.
Hours are from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Participating will be deputies with the Clallam County and Jefferson County sheriff’s offices, and officers with the Port Angeles, Sequim and Port Townsend police departments.
There is no charge to participate, and no questions will be asked.
It is illegal for a pharmacy to accept controlled substances unless a law enforcement officer is present.
The pharmaceutical drugs, including highly addictive narcotic painkillers, are taken to a Environmental Protection Agency-approved incinerator in Spokane, where law enforcement officials destroy the drugs they seize on the street.
Syringes and medical waste will not be accepted.
The National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is sponsored by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.
Improperly disposing of prescription drugs by flushing them down the toilet or throwing them away in household trash can be extremely harmful to people, animals and the environment, said Jim Borte, Clallam County Sheriff’s Office spokesman.
The take-back day is in addition to ongoing drug take-back programs offered by police departments and sheriff’s offices.
