Buffalo, NY – Erie County Sheriff Timothy B. Howard announces that the Erie County Sheriff’s Office will be participating in the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day April 30 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

This year’s event will give the public an opportunity 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 Bertrand Chaffee Hospital, Grand Island Town Hall, or Town of Hamburg Recreation Department where the sheriff’s office is hosting drop off locations and Sheriff Howard reminds individuals that collection points cannot accept liquids, needles, or sharps, only pills or patches.  The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

Last September, Americans turned in 350 tons (over 702,000 pounds) of prescription drugs at more than 5,000 sites operated by the DEA and more than 3,800 of its state and local law enforcement partners.  In 2015, the Erie County Sheriff’s Office collected about 19,000 pounds of drugs and nearly 11,000 pounds of syringes at its eighteen drop off locations throughout Erie County. 

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.

Erie County Sheriff’s Office Locations:

Springville

Bertrand Chaffee Hospital

224 East Main St

Springville, NY 14141

Grand Island

Grand Island Town Hall

2255 Baseline Rd

Grand Island, NY 14072

Hamburg

Town Recreation Dept.

4540 Southwestern Blvd.

Hamburg, NY 14075

All Locations – 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.