SLTPD holding Drug Take Back Day on October 28

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) will be hosting a National Prescription Drug Takeback Day on Saturday, October 28 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lake Tahoe Community College main parking lot near the library entrance.

With the help from the Tahoe Alliance for Safe Kids (TASK), SLTPD will take unused medication and vape pens/e-cigarette devices.

Participants may dispose of medication in its original container or by removing the medication from its container and disposing of it directly into the disposal box. However, liquid products, such as cough syrup, must remain sealed in their original container.

Intravenous solutions, injectables, and syringes WILL NOT be accepted due to potential hazards posed by blood-borne pathogens.

SLTPD, through the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), will collect vape pens or other e-cigarette devices from individual consumers only after the batteries are removed from the devices. It is important to stress that the DEA is not responsible for removing the batteries from the devices.

If the battery cannot be removed, individual consumers can check with large electronic chain stores who may accept the vape pen or e-cigarette devices for proper disposal.

Individual consumers may also contact their local Hazardous Materials Management Facility to determine if they accept these devices and for additional guidance regarding proper disposal.

TASK will have lock bags and literature available for families and individuals at the Drug Take Back event. Lock bags are for locking up opioids and cannabis to keep them out of the reach of youth. A majority of youth who try pills for the first time do so from a parent's or other relative's prescription bottles in their medicine cabinets.