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Politics & Government

Lower Merion Take-Back Day Nets 117 Lbs. of Prescription Drugs

One of the program's goals is to help prevent prescription drug abuse.

The Lower Merion Police Department collected 117 pounds of drugs on Saturday, Oct. 29, when it participated on the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, Lower Merion Police Superintendent Michael McGrath said.

McGrath spoke about the program when he gave his monthly report to the Lower Merion Board of Commissioners Police Committee on Wednesday night.

The take-back day gave the public the opportunity to rid their homes of expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs by turning them into the police who were collecting the drugs at the township’s Public Safety Building in Ardmore, McGrath said.

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McGrath said the take-back day helps remove unneeded prescription drugs from households and keeps them out of the wastewater system.

One of the goals of the DEA’s nationwide take-back program is to help prevent prescription drug abuse.

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The 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health Rates showed that more Americans currently abuse prescription drugs than the number of those using cocaine, hallucinogens, and heroin combined, and studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, according to a township press release about the take-back day.

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