Drive-thru drop-offs during Drug Takeback Day on Saturday

| Health | Safety | West Seattle news

If you’re still a little hinky about clearing out your medicine cabinet via National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day dropoff spots this Saturday, maybe this will help: Jodie Underwood from the Drug Enforcement Agency‘s Seattle office says their Admiral Way Viewpoint location will be a drive-through! Right there at the viewpoint on the northeast side of the top-of-Admiral-Way curve, you can drive through – 10 am-2 pm Saturday (April 30) – drop off the meds, drive away. You don’t even have to give them your prescription container (though if you do, you can block out the info with a marker ahead of time) – you can just empty it into their receptacle. Underwood stresses that this is a no-questions-asked event – they just want to get unneeded drugs away from places where they might be a danger or temptation to someone (there are also environmental hazards, since some think it’s OK to flush them or dump them down some other drain). Underwood also tells us the DEA’s Admiral Way site will have a mascot – good ol’ Mr. Yuk. That’s one of two drop-off locations in West Seattle on Saturday; Seattle Police will also have one, same hours, at the Southwest Precinct (Delridge/Webster).

M April 28, 2011 (3:12 pm)

Uhh.. what about your license plate?

Fiwa Jcbbb April 28, 2011 (3:22 pm)

No questions asked? This is mine: Wouldn’t it be neat if there was a way these drugs, the ones that are still good, could be re-distributed to needy medical patients who struggle having to pay toward pharmabillionaire bonuses for survival? A hysteria-free doctor and chemist supervised share-market?

MargL April 28, 2011 (4:34 pm)

Would they take expired non-prescription drugs – like 1/2 a Costco-sized bottle of ibuprofen or is it Ok to flush those?

Thomas April 28, 2011 (6:31 pm)

MargL,

I can’t speak directly for whether they would take them or not (though I’d suspect they would as they’re allowing people to dump prescription bottles into the collection boxes).
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You should never flush medication of any kind. The active ingredients will eventually make it into the sound.
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One final point, when drugs expire they are not bad, just partially inactivated. You can still take them, but the effectiveness will be reduced. I am not a doctor, do your own research.

Nulu April 28, 2011 (8:39 pm)

Fiwa Jcbbb speaks to my frustration.
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I will be disposing well over $2,000 worth of non expired unopened prescription drugs that many people who need can not afford.
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But it is a felony to sell or give them to anyone, even those with a prescription for them.
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Sometimes our system is vexing.

ConcernedHedonist April 28, 2011 (9:07 pm)

Yeah it’s got all the marks of a super-stakeout. I don’t think it is one…but you just can’t shake that feeling sometimes.

TB April 29, 2011 (8:44 pm)

Boy, thats alot of paranoia out there. With 13 States now having more prescription-related deaths outweighing/ outnumbering the vehicle accident deaths, this is a great way to rid yourself of unwanted meds safely.

Take advantage of it!

anonyme April 30, 2011 (8:27 am)

Please don’t ever, ever flush ANY drug – prescription or not – down the toilet or any other drain. There is no possible way that hundreds or thousands of these chemical substances can be filtered out through wastewater treatment. It all ends up in Puget Sound, to the detriment of marine life – and, eventually, yours and mine.

MrsL April 30, 2011 (9:12 pm)

So I stopped by the SW Precinct today before 2 pm (around 1:40pm) and I didn’t see any place to drop off my presciptions, nor did I see anyone or signs alerting people where to drop them off. Perhaps they closed up shop earlier than 2 pm? Does anyone know if the pharmacy will take back un-used prescriptions?

WSB April 30, 2011 (9:21 pm)

MrsL, that’s odd. We’re still putting together our story from today. Will look for that info – I know there’s a Bartell Drugs in Burien that is a “takeback” stop year-round, for example. – TR

Nulu May 1, 2011 (10:17 pm)

MrsL,
I stopped by the precinct and saw a similar scene.
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But I got out of my car and walked into the station to get rid of $1,000+ worth of prescription drugs.
There were two garbage-can sized boxes in the lobby and for the first time, for me at least, three officers standing inside the “reception” window.
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I didn’t even get arrested!

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