Friday, April 19, 2019; Las Cruces, NM: On Saturday, April 27, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Doña Ana 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. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
Bring your pills for disposal to the 10 sites available in Las Cruces area and five additional sites located in Doña Ana County including Anthony, Chaparral, Hatch, Messila and Sunland Park (see locations below). (Sites cannot accept liquids or needles or sharps, only pills or patches.)
Click here for a map of Drug Take Back Day locations in southern New Mexico.
At last year’s Drug Take Back Day, a total of 3,266 pounds of medications were collected from southern New Mexico, with the majority of medications disposed of from Las Cruces. In the 17 previously sponsored Take Back events, DEA and its partners have taken in almost 11 million pounds—nearly 5,500 tons—of pills.
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. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows year after year that the majority of misused and abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including someone else’s medication being stolen from the home medicine cabinet.
In the most recent Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey, a national self-reported survey of healthy and not-so-healthy behaviors of youth, 18 percent of Doña Ana County High School students reported taking a prescription drugs without a prescription, which is higher than the New Mexico average of 16 percent.
Properly disposing of unused or expired medication from homes keeps the community safer from misuse and abuse, especially by youth.
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.
“It is critically important to remove all prescription medications, especially those prescribed for pain, from homes and medicine cabinets properly and safely. Bringing them to the available sites on this day ensures that the danger posed by these medications is completely eliminated and that we are fully safeguarding the health and safety of our children, families, and community,” said Marisol Diaz, Director of Unified Prevention (UP!) Coalition of Doña Ana County.
National Drug Take Back Day partners include DEA Las Cruces, Las Cruces Police Department, Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office, New Mexico State Police, Hatch Police Department, Sunland Park Police Department, Anthony Police Department, supported by the Unified Prevention (UP!) Coalition of Doña Ana County.
Medication disposal is available throughout the year for no cost at the green MedReturn kiosks located at Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office, 845 N. Motel Blvd in Las Cruces and at the Hatch Police Department, 5 Chile Capital Ln. in Hatch.
For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or about Saturday’s Drug Take Back Day event, go to www.DEATakeBack.com or Marisol Diaz at (575) 597-0042 or email: mdiaz@swchi.org.
This news release is made available by the Unified Prevention (UP!) Coalition of Doña Ana County, a program of the Center for Health Innovation, and funded by the New Mexico Office of Substance Abuse Prevention (OSAP).
National Drug Take Back Day locations in Doña Ana County
Click here for a map of Drug Take Back Day locations in southern New Mexico.
Las Cruces
- Dublin’s, 1745 E. University Avenue
- WalMart Super Center, 571 Walton Boulevard
- Albertson’s, 2551 E. Loman Avenue
- WalMart, 1500 South Valley Drive
- Branigan Library, 200 E. Picacho Avenue
- Sam’s Club, 2711 N. Telshor Boulevard
- Elk’s Lodge, 3000 Elks Lodge
- WalMart Super Center, 3331 Rinconada Boulevard
- New Mexico State Police Building, 4055 Sonoma Ranch Boulevard
- WalMart Neighborhood Market, 150 Sonoma Ranch Boulevard
Anthony
- Anthony Police Department, 401 Wildcat Drive
Hatch
- Hatch Police Department, 5 Chile Capitol Lane
Mesilla
- Mesilla Town Municipal Court Building, 2231 Avenida de Mesilla
Sunland Park
- Sunland Park Police Department, 1000 McNutt Road
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