Anonymous Prescription Drug Collection Coming Saturday | Crime

The Drug Enforcement Administration and its community partners throughout Nevada will give the public another opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous prescription drugs.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 30, DEA and local law enforcement will host 33 collection sites throughout Nevada.  The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

Last September, Nevada residents collected and turned in more than 1,600 pounds of prescription drugs at collection sites operated by DEA’s state and local law enforcement partners.

Local collection sites are:

Boulder City

530 Avenue G

Henderson

1300 W. Sunset Road, Suite #1229

Las Vegas

3675 E. Harmon

9850 W. Cheyenne

4850 Las Vegas Blvd. South

6975 W. Windmill

North Las Vegas

3755 W. Washburn Rd.

Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high. More Americans currently abuse prescription drugs than the number of those using cocaine, hallucinogens, and heroin combined, according to the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. 

"The Prescription Drug Take-Back event provides area residents with a safe way to dispose of their unwanted medication," said Timothy J. Landrum, DEA Special Agent in Charge. "nused or expired medications are a public safety issue, and can lead to accidental poisoning, overdose and abuse. The DEA is committed to helping keep homes in our communities safe, by ridding our medicine cabinets of expired, unused, and unwanted drugs."