Local police participate in prescription drug take back day

ROCHESTER/ROCHESTER HILLS/OAKLAND TOWNSHIP — Residents now have a safe way to rid their homes of unused and expired over-the-counter and prescription drugs.

The Drug Enforcement Administration will host its 30th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, April 25. The biannual event offers free, anonymous disposal of unneeded medications at more than 4,200 local drop-off locations nationwide — including the Rochester Police Department, and the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office’s Rochester Hills and Oakland Township substations.

Families can help prevent prescription drug misuse and reduce the potential for accidental poisonings by getting rid of unnecessary medications in their homes.

“Removing unused and expired medications from your home and disposing of them properly is a simple but powerful step in preventing prescription drug misuse,” DEA Administrator Terrance Cole said in a prepared statement. “DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is a critical public safety initiative that we have hosted for 16 years. Its continued success is due, in large part, to our local and state law enforcement and community partners who continue to stand with us to make our communities safe.”

The public can discard expired, unused and unwanted medications for destruction at their local police stations during National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.

Those who miss takeback day can still drop off medications throughout the year via the Operation Medicine Cabinet boxes in the lobby of the three police stations.

The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office started the Operation Medicine Cabinet program — a DEA authorized program that creates a venue for individuals to dispose of their expired or unused medications anonymously, safely and legally — in 2009.

Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said Operation Medicine Cabinet is a service that helps keep citizens safer.

“We think it’s important because we take in thousands of unwanted or expired drugs,” Bouchard said. “It does two things. It gets it away from illegal diversion out on the street and experimentation by young people, which we’ve seen a lot of; and No. 2, it keeps it out of our waterways, so people don’t flush it down the toilet, and we dispose of it in an environmentally safe way.”

The program now has 37 law enforcement drop-off sites around Oakland County, including 13 Sheriff’s Office locations and 24 additional law enforcement locations.

Locally, the lobby of the Rochester Hills substation is open to the public for prescription drop-offs 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Mondays-Fridays at 750 Barclay Circle; the Oakland Township substation, 4391 Collins Road​, is open 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Mondays-Fridays. The lobby of the Rochester Police Department is open for drop-offs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at 400 6th St.

“If you’re not using the drug, then dispose of it. You don’t want it laying around the house,” Rochester Police Chief George Rouhib said.

Residents are asked to remove the medication from its original bottle and place it all in one zip-seal bag before bringing it inside a station. Liquids and syringes are not accepted.

For more information about National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, visit  www.DEATakeBack.com.

For more information about Operation Medicine Cabinet, visit www.oakgov.com.