Drug Take-Back Program Comes to Danbury

After my mom passed away, I was faced with having a lot of medications around her house. I knew not to flush them down the toilet, but other than the garbage, what could I safely do?

I know I'm not alone in facing the problem of disposing of unwanted, unused, and out dated drugs.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency started the annual National Prescription Drug Take Back Day back in 2010 to give people the chance to do exactly what I needed to do when my mom died, safely dispose of unwanted medications. I didn't want to risk someone getting them out of the garbage, and I didn't want to pollute the water by dissolving them. Sadly the program was not available when she passed.

The Danbury Police Department will be one of many participating on drug take back day, Saturday April 29 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. The department is located at 375 Main Street in Danbury and you can call 203-797-4577 for further information.

So many prescription drugs are the gateway to the ongoing opioid epidemic that every state in the U.S. is fighting against. Prescription meds are sadly, all too often, the cause of accidental overdoses in the home as well. Please take advantage of this drop off to get unwanted and expired drugs out of your house.

Beyond the annual event on April 29, what do you do?

I was not aware that there are also permanent drug drop boxes located at police stations around Connecticut, were you? Information and the list can be found at ct.gov/dcp.