Press Release

BREMEN — On Saturday, Oct. 26, the Drug Enforcement Administration is sponsoring the 27th nationwide “Prescription Drug Take Back” initiative.

The “Take Back” initiative seeks to prevent prescription drug abuse and theft through proper disposal of prescription drugs.

Collection sites will be set up nationwide for expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs, which will be properly disposed of without threat to the environment. This program is for liquid and pill medications. Vaping pens without batteries and vaping cartridges will also be taken. Needles, new or used, will not be accepted for disposal. This service is free and anonymous with no questions asked.

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.

In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines — flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash — pose both potential safety and health hazards.

Unwanted medications may be dropped off at any Indiana State Police Post, except for the Toll Road Post. The event will be between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26. The ISP Bremen Post is located at 1425 Miami Trail, Bremen.

Other local locations participating in the Drug Take Back initiative can be viewed online. Involved communities include Columbia City, Rochester, Elkhart, Plymouth, and Culver