Westmont, Illinois - Date Issued: March 3, 2021
The Westmont Police Department will once again participate in the annual National DEA-sponsored Drug Take Back Day. This year’s events will be held on Saturday, April 24, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be two drop-off locations in Westmont: the Westmont Police Department at 500 N. Cass Avenue, and the Westmont Fire Department at 6015 S. Cass Avenue.
“This is a very popular program that provides citizens an opportunity to safely dispose of unused and unwanted drugs,” said Westmont Deputy Police Chief Stephen Thompson. “The goal of the program is to help prevent prescription drug misuse as well as dispose of these materials in an environmentally-safe manner that helps prevent drugs from entering the fresh water supply.”
ACCEPTED
Only pills, powders, and patches will be accepted. The Westmont Police Department location will accept closed sharps boxes that contain needles, but will NOT accept needles, injectors, or epi-pens. Members of the Westmont Police Department will be on-site at both locations to receive all medications delivered and will ensure safe disposal of these drugs.
NOT ACCEPTED
The program will NOT accept radioactive medicines, liquids, creams, inhalers, needles, injectors, or EpiPens. To learn about how to safely dispose of medicines not accepted at the event, the DuPage County Health Department has helpful resources available at hopedupage.org.
The annual Drug Take Back Day also helps with reducing the possibility of substance abuse. According to the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 9.9 million Americans misused controlled prescription drugs. The study shows that a majority of abused prescription drugs were obtained from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet.
For more information regarding this program, visit the DEA website. For specific information regarding Westmont’s participation in this program, contact Deputy Police Chief Brian Gruen at bgruen@westmont.il.gov or 630-981-6340.
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