LI participates in 1st national pill 'take-back' day

The first national event to help people rid their homes of unused, potentially dangerous prescription pills will be held Saturday and includes 35 sites on Long Island.

The Long Island drop-off locations, along with tens of thousands across the country, will be open at fire, police and medical facilities for the nationwide prescription pill "take-back" day. Organizers say the goal is twofold: to keep addictive medications out of the wrong hands and out of the water supply.

"The abuse of prescription pharmaceuticals has increased dramatically in recent years . . . and this is a way to bring everyone's resources together on one day at one time," said John Gilbride, special agent in charge of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration's New York field office.

The agency, which is organizing the event along with hospitals, local police departments and other organizations, says the abuse of prescriptions pills such as Vicodin and OxyContin now outstrips cocaine and is second only to marijuana in prevalence.

On Long Island, addiction experts point to the abuse of painkillers, especially among young adults, as a major contributor to a surge in people addicted to heroin, a chemical cousin of opioid-based medications. Most pills are gathered from prescriptions of family members and passed or sold among friends.

For a searchable list by ZIP code of collection sites, go to dea.gov. The drop-offs can be made from 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday. Drop-offs are anonymous and no questions are asked. Intravenous solutions and needles are not accepted.

While a toilet flush might be a short-term solution for families emptying old pill bottles, antibiotics and pills containing synthetic estrogens can reach the environment and have been associated with physiological changes in some aquatic life, experts say.

Local communities and law enforcement agencies have held similar prescription drug collections in response to a surge in prescription pill and heroin abuse in Long Island.

Similar collection efforts last year in Port Washington and New Hyde Park gathered hundreds of pounds of pills, according to officials. Suffolk County police recently placed bins to dispose of unwanted pills in the lobbies in all seven police precincts. The bins are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

For more information on North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System's collection locations, call 516-465-2535 or visit northshorelij.com.