BPD ‘Rx Drug Take Back Day’ set for October 27

September 14, 2018

Bartlesville Police Department will participate in the next National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, set for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 27.

The event, sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Administration, allows citizens to safely and legally dispose of unwanted prescription drugs at specific collection sites located throughout the community.

“This will be the third time in a year that our department has taken part in this initiative,” said BPD interim Director of Operations Capt. Rocky Bevard. “Each of the other two occasions we collected over 190 pounds of unwanted prescription medications from the public. These unwanted drugs were taken to the DEA field office in Tulsa and destroyed, preventing them from diversion or being unsafely destroyed.”

Locations for this event are:

  • Bartlesville Police Department
    615 S. Johnstone Ave.
  • Bartlesville Fire Department Station No. 3
    100 S.E. Madison Blvd.
    (North of Sooner Park)
  • Bartlesville Fire Department Station No. 4
    3501 S.E. Price Road
    (Behind Food Pyramid grocery store)

Each site will be manned by at least one member of the Police Department, where citizens can dispose of unwanted or expired prescription medication in containers supplied by the DEA, said Bevard.

“Once disposed of in the DEA containers, the Police Department will secure the containers until they are picked up by the DEA to be destroyed,” he said.

The event is for pill and patch forms of medication only. No liquids, needles or sharps will be accepted.

The service is free and anonymous — no questions asked, Bevard said.

“We want everyone to feel comfortable in bringing their medications to the site for disposal. This is not a drug enforcement issue — it’s a community service,” he said.

DEA officials say 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,” the agency’s website states. “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 — both pose potential safety and health hazards.”

“We are hopeful for another successful Drug Take Back Day for our community and look forward to offering this service to our citizens,” Bevard said.

For more information, call 918-338-4050.