Behind the Badge
The results are in, and it’s a whopping 84 pounds.
That’s the amount of prescription drugs the Garden Grove PD collected during four hours on National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day Sept. 27.
The haul filled 4 ½ boxes.
This marked the ninth time in four years the Garden Grove PD and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has provided the public an opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused or unwanted prescription drugs.
The recent haul was bigger than the 75 pounds of prescription drugs collected at Garden Grove PD headquarters on April 26 this year. Two campaigns in 2013 yielded 240 pounds and 125 pounds.
On Sept. 27, people brought pills for disposal to the Garden Grove PD’s lobby from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The service is free and anonymous, and no questions are asked.
In April, Americans turned in 390 tons (more than 780,000 pounds) of prescription drugs at more than 6,100 sites operated by the DEA and more than 4,400 of its state and local law enforcement partners.
Studies show that a majority of abused prescriptions drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.
