Virginia authorities will once again take part in a prescription drug-take back day on Saturday, April 30.
Last September, officials in the state collected more than 5,000 pounds of prescription drugs from residents looking to clean out their medicine chests of old pills, as well as prevent those pills from getting into the hands of youths and others who might abuse them.
They’re looking to do it again this year.
“It is vitally important that we teach people how to properly dispose of prescription drugs, to keep them out of Virginia’s waterways and drinking water, and out of the hands of children and drug abusers. Every day, 2,500 teens use prescription drugs to get high for the first time. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet,” said Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli in a press release.
The take back event starts at 9 a.m. and will last until 1 p.m. in Stafford, where residents can take their unused or outdated prescriptions to Stafford Hospital Center, drop them off in a disposal box where they will later be taken and destroyed.
In Woodbridge, residents can bring their prescription drugs to the main entrance of Potomac Mills mall, between Costco and AMC Theaters, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., where they will be collected and destroyed, officials say.
Controlled substances will not be accepted during the drug-take back effort.
