Got Drugs? Drop Them Off Saturday at Police Station

Got prescription drugs in your medicine cabinet that you don't use any more?

A police department near you wants them!

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, the county's North Park Police Station  and the  will collect the drugs as part of the nationwide Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.

The North Park station is located at 700 West Ridge Drive in Allison Park. Cranberry's dropoff site is at 2525 Rochester Road in Cranberry Township. To search for other dropoff sites, click here. 

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is sponsoring the project to collect unwanted, unused or expired over-the-counter and prescription drugs.

More than 3,000 law enforcement agencies throughout the nation participated in the program last year and collected about 120 tons of unwanted medications.

According to the DEA’s 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, more Americans abuse prescription drugs than use cocaine, hallucinogens and heroin combined. Studies also showed that people who abuse prescription drugs often obtained them from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.

Many who do not know how to properly dispose of unused medicine also wind up flushing them down the toilet or throwing them away, which are potential safety and health hazards. Sewage treatment plants are not designed to remove most pharmaceuticals, and flushed drugs enter waterways and ultimately into drinking water.

All medicine collected at Saturday's event will be turned over to the DEA for destruction. Police also ask participants to remove any personal information from medication bottles or packages before placing them in the disposal box. There is no charge for the disposal service.