Prescription Drug Take-Back Sept. 12 at the Dover AFB Commissary Published Sept. 1, 2015 By Tech. Sgt. Kevin Veneman 436th Security Forces Squadron DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- On Sept. 12, 2015, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the 436th Security Forces Squadron along with the 436th Medical Squadron/Pharmacy and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will give the public its tenth opportunity in four years to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs. Bring your pills for disposal to the Dover AFB Commissary. (We cannot accept liquids or medical needles; only pills and patches). The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked. Last September, Dover AFB collected 175.2 pounds of unwanted prescription drugs. Team Dover finished with the second highest weight total in the Air Mobility Command, sixth highest weight total in the state of Delaware and 12th highest weight total in the Air Force. These numbers highlight the great relationship between Dover AFB and our military community; however we look to bolster these numbers in 2015. This initiative addresses a vital public safety and health issue. Prescriptions that languish in home medicine cabinets are highly susceptible to misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies have shown a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, and from the home's medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines; flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash--pose potential safety, health, and environmental hazards. The DEA is in the process of approving new regulations implementing the Safe and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, which amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow an "ultimate user" (that is, a patient or their family member or pet owner) of controlled substance medications to dispose of them by delivering them to entities authorized by the Attorney General to accept them. The Act also allows the Attorney General to authorize long-term care facilities to dispose of their residents' controlled substances in certain instances. So please clean out those medicine cabinets, and bring your unused and unwanted prescription drugs for disposal to the Commissary on Sept. 12, 2015, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and let's set a new record for drugs turned in. For more information call Tech. Sgt. Kevin Veneman, at 677-5775.