Give Us Your Drugs, County Officials Say

Officials in Nassau County, N.Y., are hoping to get to the drugs in your medicine cabinet before your kids do as they battle rising abuse of prescription medications, Newsday reported Sept. 9.

The county announced that it would accept unused and expired prescription medications and even illicit drugs at collection points at a local park and all county police precincts over the weekend. Dropoffs could be made anonymously.

A similar initiative was undertaken in June by the town of North Hempstead, with the goal of keeping dangerous pharmaceuticals from being flushed down sinks and toilets and imperiling the local water supply. The town collected 400 pounds of drugs, including Xanax, Vicodin, OxyContin, and methadone.