This Saturday is the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration’s Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. There’s really no good way to get rid of unused prescription medications. You shouldn’t keep them in the medicine cabinet because they could be taken and abused by a family member, a visitor, or a thief. You shouldn’t throw them in the trash because they end up in the groundwater. You shouldn’t flush them down the toilet because the pharmaceutical compounds can survive the water treatment process and make it into rivers, where they harm fish and other wildlife. The Redding Police Department and other agencies had safe medication disposal kiosks in place since 2015 but they had to be removed due to a change in federal rules. Many pharmacies can accept unwanted prescription drugs for disposal, and semi-annual drug take-back days are being held. Drugs can be turned in free and anonymously with no questions asked this Saturday from 10AM to 2PM at many locations, including Redding City Hall.
-Steve Gibson