Portland joins national movement, hosting drug takeback event to prevent addiction
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- Since unwanted or expired medication all too often becomes a gateway to addiction, special drug take back events are held twice a year to stop the flow of drugs in the community.
On Saturday, the City of Portland's Safe Blocks Program and the Portland Police Bureau partnered with the Drug Enforcement Administration to help people empty their medicine cabinet for National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.
Back in April, they reportedly collected over 1,600 pounds of prescription drugs.
"It's a good opportunity for the community to come see police officers interact with them as well as interacting with other government workers like ourselves," said King Tran, a program coordinator with Safe Blocks.
"It's also really important to be able to educate the community on how to dispose properly of prescription medication," noted Rocio Garcia, another Safe Blocks program coordinator.
The Penumbra Kelly building on East Burnside is one of more than 4,000 drop off locations nationwide. They were are accepting unneeded tablets, capsules, patches and other solid forms of prescription drugs.
Additionally, people could just drive up and drop off without having to provide any personal information.
"A lot of folks don't realize that flushing it down the toilet is harmful to the water. Or burying it in the soil is harmful to the earth," Garcia said. "And so what we do is we collect the drugs, hand them over to the DEA and they incinerate them in a safe way."
For more than a decade, this program has helped dispose of these leftover drugs that can lead to addiction. According to Garcia, it's a way to keep them out of the hands of people who aren't supposed to have them, such as curious children.
"It's mostly tends to be teenagers who either have access or are visiting friends homes, or their grandparents have access," he said.
If you have medications that you want to get rid of, click here to find a drop off location near you.