Calaveras County to hold prescription drug take-back day,

People who want to safely and anonymously get rid of expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs have multiple opportunities to do so in Calaveras County.

Staff with the Sheriff’s Office and the county Office of Education are touting Drop the Drugs Day at two locations, in Angels Camp and at Toyon Middle School, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24.

Deputy Samantha King with the Sheriff’s Office said Drop the Drugs Day in Calaveras County is intended to coincide with National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, a biannual event coordinated every April and October by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, based in Springfield, Virginia, outside the nation’s capital in Washington, D.C.

This past April’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day was canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. A year ago, people nationwide turned in more than 440 tons of unused or expired prescription medication and vape devices for the October 2019 National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, according to the DEA.

Communications staff with the federal DEA say National Prescription Drug Take Back Day addresses a crucial public safety and public health issue.

According to a 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 9.9 million Americans were reportedly misusing controlled prescription drugs. The study showed a majority of abused prescription drugs were obtained from family and friends, often from home medicine cabinets.

Also in 2018, according to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics, the most common substance exposure reported to poison control centers was illegal or misused prescription opioids, with more than 280,000 cases of exposure. More than 40 percent of those cases involved children younger than 5, including 5,300 exposures to heroin and fentanyl.

Drop the Drugs Day locations in Calaveras County will be at the Calaveras County Office of Education, 185 South Main St. in Angels Camp; and at Toyon Middle School, 3412 Double Springs Road, off Highway 12 between San Andreas and Valley Springs.

King said at Drop the Drugs Day events, residents can give their old and unused prescription drugs straight to uniformed law enforcement officers. People dropping off drugs should make sure all identifying information on prescription bottles and other containers is marked out or removed.

“The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked, but collection sites are not equipped to receive liquids or sharps” like needles and syringes, King said in a prepared statement.

Flushing unused prescription drugs down the toilet or throwing them in the trash can pose safety, environmental and health hazards, King said.

“Returning unused drugs to law enforcement agencies for destruction,” King said, “is the safest and most environmentally responsible method of disposal.”

King estimated Calaveras County collection events have removed more than 1,600 pounds of potentially dangerous drugs and medications from the community since 2011.

People who can’t drop their unused prescription drugs in Angels Camp or at Toyon Middle School can always drop off drugs during business hours at permanent Drug Drop Boxes inside the lobbies at the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office, 1045 Jeff Tuttle Drive in San Andreas; and at the Angels Camp Police Department, 200 Monte Verda St. in Angels Camp.

For more information about the safe disposal of unused medicines, call the Sheriff’s Office at (209) 754-6500.