Mariposa County Sheriff's Community Organized Policing Effort (SCOPE) Members (L-R) Ron Glenn, Dawn Carry, Janet Gale and Chancie McDonald were staffing the Prescription Drug Take Back Day location in Mariposa.

September 28, 2015 - On Saturday, September 26, 2015 the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) set up at several locations in Mariposa County allowing local residents to return their unwanted, unneeded, or expired prescription drugs for safe disposal.

At the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office in Mariposa about 50 pounds of unwanted, unneeded, or expired prescription drugs had been turned in by Noon on Saturday.

A reminder for the next Prescription drug take-back day the service is free and anonymous, no questions asked. 

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, 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 show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home 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—both pose potential safety and health hazards.
Source for some information: Mariposa County Sheriff Department.