Nassau, Suffolk police to collect old meds

Unwanted, unused and expired prescription medications will be collected at all eight Nassau County police precincts Saturday.

The medications can be dropped off between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. at these locations:

-- First Precinct, 900 Merrick Rd., Baldwin.

-- Second Precinct, 7700 Jericho Tpke., Woodbury.

-- Third Precinct, 214 Hillside Ave., Williston Park.

-- Fourth Precinct, 1699 Broadway, Hewlett.

-- Fifth Precinct, 1655 Dutch Broadway, Elmont.

-- Sixth Precinct, 100 Community Dr., Manhasset.

-- Seventh Precinct, 3636 Merrick Rd., Seaford.

-- Eighth Precinct, 286 Wantagh Ave., Levittown.

Suffolk County police, who have their own program called Operation Medicine Cabinet, also will participate in Saturday's program, run in conjunction with the Drug Enforcement Agency.

In September, Americans turned in more than 121 tons of prescription drugs in the first DEA Prescription Drug Take-Back Program. The DEA will run the program at almost 5,100 sites nationwide -- about 1,000 more than in September.

"Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet," County Executive Edward Mangano said in a prepared statement Thursday.

"Eliminating these unwanted, unused and expired medications from Nassau County homes will go a long way to helping protect the young people of this county as well as children from accidental ingestion," he said.