Palm Desert to Participate in National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day

Palm Desert Police will join with the federal Drug Enforcement Agency to take part in the DEA’s second National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, April 30.

“This is a great opportunity for people who have accumulated unwanted, unused prescription drugs to safely dispose of them,” said Palm Desert Police spokesperson Sgt. Misty Reynolds. “They can drop them off at the Palm Desert Sheriff’s Station from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. – no questions asked.”

The sergeant went on to note that the campaign is designed to help curb the abuse of prescription drugs by teens.

“According to the Partnership for a Drug Free America, each day, approximately, 2,500 teens use prescription drugs to get high for the first time,” she said. “Studies show that a majority of these drugs come from family and friends, including home medicine cabinets.”

Nationwide, more than 7 million Americans currently abuse prescription drugs, according to the 2009 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health. 

Last year, the DEA – in conjunction with state and local law enforcement agencies throughout the United States – conducted the first ever National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. Proponents hailed the effort as a huge success in removing prescription drugs – particularly controlled substances – from the nation’s medicine cabinets, with more than 121 tons of pills turned in across the nation.

Reynolds added that, in addition to the Palm Desert Sheriff's Station at 73-705 Gerald Ford Dr., medications can be dropped off at the following locations: the Indio Police Department, 46-800 Jackson St.; the Indio Sheriff’s Station, 82-695 Dr. Carreon Blvd.; and the Palm Springs Police Department, 200 S. Civic Drive.

For more information about this year’s event, log on to www.justice.gov/dea or call (760) 836-1600.