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MOUNT KISCO, NY -The Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention Council of Mount Kisco took part in the drug Take Back Day on Saturday, urging locals to bring in their prescription medicine to be properly disposed of.
The Pillution Campaign, which is headed by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, is occurring throughout northern Westchester and the Mount Kisco branchs headquarters in the Mount Kisco Police Department. In the first hours, nearly all of the bins brought out by the council were filled, requiring additional bags to hold the material.
As you can see the response has been overwhelming, said Mel Berger, the chairman of the council. It keeps [the drugs] out of the water and ground system. Everything here will be incinerated and disposed of safely. Its also good for people to clear out their medicine cabinet. Once the prescriptions are no longer used or expired, they can do more harm than good.
Along with keeping the environment clean of waste, the program keeps the unused drugs out of the hands of secondary users, mainly children. We have seen an increase in prescription pill abuse over the last few years, which is why I think this is really important, explained Lauren Beeson, the student assistance counselor at Fox Lane High School. Kids don't understand what theyre getting from these cabinets, going in blindly saying lets try this, without knowing what the effects will be.
The drugs, which were monitered by a police officer on staff, were taken from the station by the DEA after the conclusion of the program. In April, the DEA held their first drug Take Back Day, disposing more than 309 tons of pills.
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