Published: September 28, 2010
FRIENDSWOOD -Citizens lined up at the UTMB Specialty Care Center at Victory Lakes Saturday to drop off unwanted and expired medications as part of a nationwide Prescription Drug Take Back program.
Officials with the Bay Area Alliance for Youth and Families said that 157 vehicles showed up at the League City facility participate in the event designed to help prevent increased drug abuse and theft.
The Alliance's Prescription Drug Advisory Committee worked with the Drug Enforcement Agency to set up the Friendswood-League City collection site. Others involved in the local event were Friendswood Police, League City Police, Galveston County Sheriff's Office, UTMB Police, Bay Area Council on Drugs and Alcohol, Texas National Guard, the Southeast Texas Poison Control Center and UTMB of Galveston.
The local effort resulted in the filling of 15 large collection bins and one large trash bag. With the exception of providing zip code information, the drop off was anonymous with no questions asked.
Based on zip code information provided by participants, 61 vehicle participants were from League City, 35 vehicles from the Clear Lake area of Houston, 13 from Friendswood, 13 from Dickinson-San Leon, five from Webster and five from the Kemah-Clear Lake Shores zip code. Participants from La Marque and Alvin accounted for four vehicles each, three from the shared El Lago-Taylor Lake-Seabrook zip code and two each from, Santa Fe, Galveston and Texas City. Residents of the Sagemont and Almeda areas of Houston along with residents of Cypress, Katy, Beeville, and Conroe also came to the area location to drop off no longer needed medications.
Director of National Drug Control Policy Gil Kerlikowske noted in a Drug Enforcement Agency press release "Prescription drug abuse is the Nation's fastest-growing drug problem, and take-back events like this one are an indispensable tool for reducing the threat that the diversion and abuse of these drugs pose to public health."
