BATON ROUGE, LA – Saturday is National Prescription Drug Take Back
Day, and Attorney General Jeff Landry is encouraging Louisiana residents to
participate in the day’s numerous events around the State.
“More than half of the patients prescribed opioid painkillers have
or expect to have extra pills left over, and one-fifth of those individuals
share their pills with a friend or family member,” said General Landry. “This
is a problem of epidemic proportions, and we want to do all we legally can to
end it.”
So General Landry’s office has teamed up with several sheriff offices,
police departments, fire departments, and area hospitals to help host drug take
back events organized by the Drug Enforcement Agency. These efforts provide people
avenues for safe and proper disposal of expired, unused, or unwanted
prescription drugs.
“More than 70,000 emergency room visits each year result from
medication accidents by children under age 18,” added General Landry “So for
the safety of our children and families, I encourage all Louisianans to do some
spring cleaning and drop off their leftover prescriptions drugs.”
General Landry previously joined with Blue Cross and Blue Shield
of Louisiana and the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators to
provide permanent prescription drug drop boxes – free of charge – to law
enforcement offices across Louisiana.
The list of Saturday’s drop off sites in Louisiana may be found under "More Resources." And the current list of permanent drop boxes in our State may be found at
www.EndTheEpidemicLA.org.
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