More than 160 pounds of unused prescription pills were turned in at the Longview Police Department Sept. 25 during the national prescription drug disposal day sponsored by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
The one-day total is more than the one-year total of 155 pounds LPD collected and destroyed since September 2009. The four-hour DEA event was the first Saturday collection in Cowlitz County.
The DEA will release totals from around the country today, said Jodie Underwood of the DEA's Seattle Office.
LPD and the Woodland Police Department will continue to accept and destroy unwanted prescription drugs to keep them out of the hands of drug abusers and the water supply, which can be contaminated by flushing medications.
Regular disposal hours at LPD are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. People can take pills to WPD from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and to Hi-School Pharmacy in Woodland from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesdays.
For more information on disposal of unwanted medication, call the Cowlitz Substance Abuse Coalition, 577-3041.
