UALR Police officers will be on hand at the UALR Department of Public Safety in University Plaza from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 28, to accept unused, unwanted, or expired pharmaceutical drugs and  prescription medications and dispose of them in a safe and ecologically sound way.

The UALR collection station is one of hundreds in Arkansas where residents can drop off old and unused medication to make sure it stays out of the hands of children and potential abusers.

It is the fourth national take back initiative aimed at keeping communities drug free and the environment clean. Last year, Arkansas collected 77 percent of all collections – more than 12 tons.

“It’s quick and easy. Just drive up and drop off your medications and you’ll be on your way,” said Det. Sharon Bowles Houlette.

Law enforcement is the only entity legally authorized to receive scheduled substances from citizens. By turning over old medicine to the police, Take Back participants:

• Protect small children – in 2008 alone, there were more than 100,000 trips to emergency rooms due to accidental ingestion of prescription drugs by children younger than age five.
• Prevent dangerous prescription drugs from being abused or diverted.
• Ensure that these drugs will never be stolen by young people straight from their own parents’ and grandparents’ medicine cabinets.
• Prevent overdoses and deaths.
• Ensure pharmaceuticals don’t pollute local water supplies, streams, and lakes – water treatment systems can’t remove them when they are flushed.
• Provide a great community service for those people who want to “do right” by removing these unneeded medications from their homes.
• Help provide much-needed prescription abuse education and awareness to the public.

For more information, contact Houlette at 502-569-8797.