Drug Enforcement Administration officials and health workers will take unused and expired prescription drugs at 13 locations in New Hampshire on Saturday, October 23.
Drug Take Back Day focuses on preventing poisonings and overdoses due to the misuse of these medicines, which some public health workers say is a problem in New Hampshire.
Lisa Vazquez, a worker with Nashua’s Division of Public Health, said people need to take their names off prescription containers for their own privacy, but they don’t need to do anything else.
“Just come in, leave their medications, and leave,” Vazquez says. The process is anonymous.
On Drug Take Back Day, you can dispose of any unwanted or unused medication as long as they’re in pill form or patches.
Health workers also want the public to know the hazards of throwing away their medicines in the garbage or flushing them. Vazquez also said these are “a potential health danger to our environment.”
The DEA will receive the drugs in stores, health posts, and drive-thrus. Other locations are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about sites by zip code, you can visit the DEA website.