On Saturday, April 27 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. the Tehachapi Police Department will participate in the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.

The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient and responsible means to dispose of prescription medications.

“Prescription medications can be stolen or misused so we encourage everyone to clear out their medicine cabinets of unwanted, unused and expired medications for proper disposal on Saturday April 27,” said Kent Kroeger chief of police.

Drop off your unwanted, unused and expired medications at the Tehachapi Police Department, 220 W. C St. in Tehachapi on Saturday April 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Last fall Americans turned in nearly 460 tons (more than 900,000-pounds) of prescription drugs at more than 5,800 sites operated by the DEA and almost 4,800 of its state and local law enforcement partners.

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows year after year that the majority of misused and abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including someone else’s medication being stolen from the home medicine cabinet.