Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, in a partnership with the Long Beach Police Department, are collecting expired, unwanted or unused prescription drugs in coordination with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Pharmaceutical Take-Back initiative.
According to those representing the take-back, the collection of pharmaceuticals is an attempt to prevent increased pill abuse and theft. The last event enacting the same process in April of this year yielded some 634 pounds of drugs. In October 2011, a take-back yielded 450 pounds of pharmaceuticals.
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According to the Harvard Medical School, the dangerousness of expired prescribed drugs is relatively low outside of nitroglycerin, insulin, liquid antibiotics and tetracycline. Most medications are durable and long-lasting as long as they are kept in a cool place, particularly a refrigerator. Expiration dates exist to define the length of the medication’s effectiveness to do what it does best. When it is “expires,” pharmaceutical companies can no longer guarantee its potency. The take-back is more aimed at removing prescription drugs that could fall into the wrong hands.
Once collected, the unwanted pharmaceuticals will be turned over to the DEA who will safely destroy the drugs.
The initiative will provide a drive-thru service that is both free and anonymous. The event will take place Saturday, October 26, from 10AM to 2PM at Long Beach Memorial hospital at 2801 Atlantic Ave. For more information regarding the National Take Back Initiative, visitwww.dea.gov or contact the Long Beach Police Department’s Drug Investigations Section at (562) 570-7221.
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