The BC RCMP support the National Prescription Drug Drop-Off Day, Saturday, May 11, and is extending its support by accepting prescriptions for a full week till May 17, ensuring these drugs are disposed of safely.
If people wish to drop off prescription drugs on Saturday, May 11 or Sunday, May 12 at the Williams Lake RCMP detachment, please ensure to use the phone outside the detachment in order to turn over prescription drugs to a police officer.
For public safety reasons, the RCMP asks people not to leave prescription drugs outside of the closed RCMP Detachment.
The Williams Lake Detachment is open Monday to Friday between the hours of 08:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., and will be happy to accept prescription medications during those hours.
In B.C., the Medications Return Program has been in place since 1996.
The program allows the public to return unused or expired medications to participating pharmacies around the province, at no charge on an ongoing basis.
"Reducing access to these medications by people who should not be using them is one part of addressing this public health issue. So we are urging people to clean out their medicine cabinets and bathroom drawers; put safety first and take this opportunity to get rid of medications that are no longer being used," a BC RCMP press release noted.
A 2009 study found one fifth of students in grades 7-12 have used at least one prescription drug without a doctor’s prescription, and that oftentimes these medications were stolen from a medicine cabinet or a pharmacy, or obtained through a fake prescription or drug trafficker.
The goal of the week-long program is to provide the public with the opportunity to turn over all unwanted prescription medications so that these may then be safely and properly destroyed, said assistant commissioner Randy Beck, head of Criminal Operations, Core Policing, for the RCMP in B.C.
“More than 95 per cent of pharmacies participate in the Medications Return Program, so it’s easy for British Columbians to return their expired or unused prescription drugs, over the counter medications, or natural health products at any time,” said Geraldine Vance, CEO of the BC Pharmacy Association. “We encourage everyone to drop off their medications to protect themselves, their families and the environment.”