The public is invited to bring expired or unused prescription drugs to a safe disposal event on Saturday, May 22nd from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. This drive-through event will take place in front of the Carriage House at the Benton County Fairgrounds in Corvallis, OR.

“No questions will be asked about who the prescription was made out to or the type or amount brought in,” said Sheriff Diana Simpson. “This is a public safety issue. We want to keep unused prescription drugs from being misused and we also want to help keep them out of the water supply.”

A number of national studies indicate that the intentional abuse of prescription drugs, particularly among teens, is a growing concern. According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, among young people ages 12 – 17, prescription drugs have become the second most abused drug, behind marijuana.

Disposing of medications by flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash can lead to contamination of our drinking water. While most drugs can be treated at wastewater treatment plants, some cannot. Drugs collected at the public event will be disposed of in an environmentally sound manner.

Individuals who bring drugs to the event are asked to keep the medications in their original containers, if at all possible, but to mark out any personal information such as name, phone number and prescription number prior to turning them in. Once collected the drugs will be catalogued by type to determine what was collected and then they will be incinerated.

The event is being organized by the Benton County Sheriff’s Office in partnership with the Philomath Police Department and the Benton County Fairgrounds. More information about this event is available on the Benton County Sheriff’s Office website at: www.co.benton.or.us/sheriff.