Drug Take Back Day slated for Saturday

Local police set up collection sites for unwanted medications

The Allegheny Township Police Department will host a drug collection site for Saturday's National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.

The collection site will be available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 22, at Sam's Club, 2700 Plank Road, Altoona.

In addition, the Altoona Police Department will have a collection site at Martin's on East Chestnut Avenue, while the Blair County Sheriff's Office will host a site at the Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg. The Department of Veterans Affairs Police will be accepting unused prescription drugs at the DVA office, and Penn State University will have a site at the Poplar Building.

Other collection sites include the police departments in Cresson Borough, Martinsburg, Patton Borough, Greenfield Township, Carrolltown Township and Nanty Glo Borough.

According to the DEA website, collection sites will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

Tablets, capsules, patches and other solid forms of prescription drugs will be accepted for disposal. Liquid products, such as cough syrup, should remain sealed in their original container and the cap must be tightly sealed to prevent leakage.

Collection sites will not accept syringes, sharps and illicit drugs.

In partnership with local law enforcement, the Drug Enforcement Administration's Take Back Day has removed more than 8,300 tons of medication from circulation since its inception.

For more information and to find a collection site, visit www.DEATakeBack.com.