Senators Collins, King announce Maine locations for 2017 Drug Take-Back Day

Washington, D.C. -Ahead of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency’s National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day this Saturday, October 28th, U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME) announced the locations of the Maine collection sites. The Windham Public Safety Building, 375 Gray Road and the Raymond Fire Department at 1443 Roosevelt Trail in Raymond are the two local sites for the Take Back Day, along with the Standish Town Hall at 175 North East Road. For the complete list of locations, go to the website www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback. The National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications. At a previous Take-Back event on April 29, 2017, federal, state, and local government entities took back a record 900,386 pounds of unused, expired, or unwanted drugs at nearly 5,500 collection locations across the country, including almost 14 tons of unwanted medications in Maine alone. “In addition to posing serious health and safety hazards, unused prescription drugs collecting in our homes can create unintended gateways to addiction, fueling the heroin and opioid abuse crisis,” Senators Collins and King said in a joint statement. “Following a record collection last spring, we are confident that Mainers will continue to lead efforts to protect their children, their homes, and our environment from the abuse and improper handling of unused prescription drugs by participating in this program.”  Federal regulations allow pharmacies, hospitals, clinics, and other authorized collectors to serve as collection points for unused prescription medication. In 2014, following a consistent bipartisan effort led by Senator Collins and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), the Department of Justice granted the Departments of Defense (DoD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) the ability to participate in prescription drug take-back programs at DoD and VA facilities. This initiative has helped to address the role of prescription drug abuse in many military and veteran suicides.