Press release:
This Saturday, Oct. 24, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.,Genesee County law enforcement agencies and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will give the public an opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs.
Bring your pills to either of these collection sites below for disposal:
- Pembroke Town Hall, Route 5 at Route 77 in Pembroke -- received by Genesee County Sheriff Deputies;
- Alva Place Parking Lot, Batavia (across the street from Batavia Showtime movie theater located in the Genesee Country Mall) -- received by Batavia Police Officers. Sharps will also be accepted at this location only.
The service is free and anonymous; no questions asked. Collection sites will follow local COVID-19 guidelines and regulations, which includes masks for citizens dropping off medication.
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 United States are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.
Last fall, Americans turned in nearly 883,000 pounds of prescription drugs at nearly 6,300 sites operated by the Drug Enforcement Agency and almost 5,000 of its state and local law enforcement partners.
DEA, along with its law enforcement partners, has now collected nearly 6,350 tons of expired, unused, and unwanted prescription medications since the inception of the National Prescription Drug Take Back Initiative in 2010.
