BATH, N.Y. (WETM) – The Steuben County Sheriff’s Office and the Steuben Prevention Coalition Opioid Committee will co-host a “Prescription Drug Take Back” event at the end of October.

The take-back event will take place on Saturday, Oct. 28, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., at the Steuben County Public Safety Building in Bath for community members to drop off unused and expired prescription medications. The event is biannual and focused on safeguarding prescription drugs to prevent substance abuse.

“We want people to keep their prescriptions in a safe, secure place, clean them out when they’re through and take them back to a secure location,” said committee Program Coordinator Connie Terry. “Clearing out unused medicine is essential in preventing addiction.”

According to the 2021 National Institute on Drug Abuse report, 8.7 million people misused prescription pain relievers, 3.7 million misused prescription stimulants and 3.9 million people misused prescription tranquilizers or sedatives. This report specifies that, in most cases, people who misuse prescription drugs get them from family, friends and acquaintances.

“Proper disposal helps us to ensure that a tragedy does not occur due to accidental ingestion by a child. It also works as a deterrent to those that would steal unused drugs for use or sale to someone suffering from addiction” said county Sheriff Jim Allard. “This is one small task we can all take to make our community safer.”