Grosse Pointe Park Public Safety to Gather Medications in National DEA Program

The Public Safety Department will collect unused, old and expired medications Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. as part of a nationwide program with the Drug Enforcement Agency.

The objective is to not only properly dispose of the medications but also to remove medications that could be abused by teenagers, drug addicts or accidentally ingested by a child, Park Public Safety Director David Hiller said.

This is the first time Grosse Pointe Park is participating and Hiller thinks it is a good offering for residents "or anyone really," he said. 

An officer will man the dropoff station—to be held in the public safety department's multi-bay garage—and will operate in an anonymous manner, meaning those who are dropping off will not have to identify themselves, the drug or why they are disposing of it.

The DEA-organized program, called the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, has colleced more than 309 tons during its last two events involving thousands of law enforcement officers from all levels of government, according to the DEA's written release.

Prescription abuse, according to the DEA, is higher throughout the country than abuse of illegal drugs such as cocaine, heroin and others. The DEA cites the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health that found "2.5 times more people currently abuse prescription drugs than the number of those using cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, and inhalants combined."

Hiller said by ridding homes of unused medications it eliminates the opportunity for teenagers to try out a narcotic or for it to end up in the wrong hands. Generally, teens who abuse prescription drugs obtain them through family or friends by raiding medicine cabinets, he said.

This helps eliminate the chance of an accidental overdose or poisoning, he said.

Another important feature of the event is that the medications will be properly disposed of, Hiller said. Traditionally, many people either throw pills in the trash or they flush them down the toilet but neither are considered proper disposal and both have ill effects on the environment. They also have potential to cause possible public health issues, he said.

The dropoff will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday Oct. 28 at the Grosse Pointe Park municipal building, 15115 E. Jefferson. The drop off will be near the garage doors that face the parking lot.