People with unused or expired prescription drugs are encouraged to dispose of them safely by turning them in to the Durango Police Department during a special event Saturday.
As part of the Drug Enforcement Agency’s National Drug Take Back Day, DPD is accepting the drugs between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the Durango police substation located at 545 Wilson Gulch Drive near Three Springs.
Piggybacking on the drug turn-in is a food drive to benefit Manna – the Durango soup kitchen.
DPD will accept tablets, capsules, patches and other solid forms of prescription drugs. They will also take vaping devices and cartridges but ask that lithium batteries be removed before discarding them. Liquids (including intravenous solutions), syringes, sharps, or illegal drugs will not be accepted.
Wish-list food items include canned goods (fruits, vegetables, meats, meals) or packaged meals in single or group serving sizes (ramen, pasta, oatmeal, cereal, granola). Personal hygiene products are also beneficial.
Police suggest turning in old or expired drugs as opposed to flushing them down the toilet or tossing them in the garbage for public health and safety concerns.
“It’s generally not recommended to flush them because that does go into our water supply,” said Officer Jonathan Mizner with the DPD. “And it does cause issues of pollution because some of those chemicals do not breakdown readily going into the water.”
Disposing of drugs in the garbage is more of a safety concern, Mizner said.
“When you put them in the trash you open up the possibility that someone is going to go through your trash and try to get them,” he said. “And typically, on your bottles you have information about yourself, so there are privacy concerns with that. And people have the fear of ‘if someone sees me taking prescription opioids, they might try to break in to get more.’ That’s always a concern. In general, it’s just not a secure disposal method.”
The substation has bags available that will neutralize medications, but the easiest and quickest option is just to drop them off, Mizner added.
gjaros@durangoherald.com
