Police departments around Maine will accept unused or unwanted prescription medications today in the latest effort to safeguard potentially dangerous medicines. State officials say the drugs can wind up in the environment and in the water supply if they're flushed or dumped down a drain.
But Attorney General Janet Mills says the drive not only works to ensure environmentally safe disposal, but also reduces the risk that medications, such as opioid drugs, will fall into the wrong hands.
"These things remaining in your medicine cabinet make you susceptible to burglary and theft as well," says Mills. "People are stealing these drugs, whether they know what they are or not. And they're selling them on the street."
During the last drug take-back drive in April, Maine collected more than 27-thousand pounds of medications, the largest amount collected in Maine to date.
Dozens of law enforcement agencies are participating in the take-back effort, including the Biddeford Police Department, Kennebec County Sheriff's Department, and Oxford Police Department.
Drugs can be taken to participating police stations between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.