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Residents are invited to drop off their unwanted or expired prescription drugs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Birdsall-Fagan Police Facility at 86 Spring St. in Ossining. The event is organized through Ossining’s Communities That Care Coalition and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Last April, Americans turned in 276 tons of prescription drugs at more than 5,600 sites, according to a release. In Ossining, residents returned 11,000 pills with an estimated street value of more than $2,500.
“This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue,” said CTC’s Heidi Hellmich in a press release. “Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse.”
In four previous Take Back events, the DEA and its partners have taken in more than 1.5 million pounds of pills, according to the release. Thousands of pills have come in locally over the last several months after police installed a Take-Back Bin at the police facility.
“Prescription drug use is one of the fastest increasing drug trends,” said CTC’s Alice Joselow previously. “I think that people in general are recognizing that and most communities don’t have the ability to do something about it. As people have become aware, they’re doing more and more to clean up our community.”
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