On Saturday, Oct. 29, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the Tehachapi Police Department and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will provide the public the opportunity to prevent prescription drug abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs. Bring your tablets, capsules, patches and other solid forms of prescription drugs for disposal to the Tehachapi Police Department at 220 W. C St.

Liquids (including intravenous solutions), syringes and other sharps, and illegal drugs will not be accepted. DEA will continue to accept vaping devices and cartridges at its drop off locations provided lithium batteries are removed. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

At its last Take Back Day in April, DEA collected more than 720,000 pounds of unwanted and unused prescription medications. Since 2010, DEA, along with its law enforcement partners, has collected nearly 16 million pounds of unneeded prescription medications. With studies indicating most abused prescription drugs come from family and friends, including from home medicine cabinets, clearing out unused medicine is essential.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 107,000 people in the U.S. died because of drug overdose last year, resulting in one overdose death every 5 minutes. Helping people dispose of potentially harmful prescription drugs is just one way the Tehachapi Police Department and the DEA is working to reduce addiction and stem overdose deaths.

For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or about the Oct. 29 Take Back Day event, go to http://www.deatakeback.com or contact the Tehachapi Police Department at (661) 822-2222.