The Glenview Police Department will give the public an opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs.

Residents will be able to bring medications for disposal from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 28, to the Public Works Department employee parking lot, 1333 Shermer Road, Glenview. The drive-through service is free and anonymous, no questions asked. (Here's the flyer)

The event is made possible through the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. Last October, the third time the event was held nationally, Americans turned in 377,080 pounds—188.5 tons—of unwanted or expired prescription drugs at more than 5,300 sites operated by the DEA and nearly 4,000 state and local law enforcement partners.

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards.

This is the first time that Glenview is participating in the national event. The Village, however, for several years has collected unused medications and sharps (needles and syringes) the first Friday of the month at Village Hall, 1225 Waukegan Road. But while the Village is not able to accept controlled substances at its monthly medications collection, the Police Department will be able to do so at the April 28 event. (The Police Department will not, however, accept sharps or liquids on April 28.)

The U.S. Congress passed the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, which amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow an “ultimate user” of controlled substance medications to dispose of them by delivering them to entities authorized by the Attorney General to accept them. The Act also allows the Attorney General to authorize long-term care facilities to dispose of their residents’ controlled substances in certain instances. DEA is drafting regulations to implement the Act, a process that can take as long as 24 months. Until new regulations are in place, local law enforcement agencies like the Glenview Police Department and the DEA can continue to hold prescription drug take-back events.