FREEPORT – The Freeport Police Department is inviting residents to rid themselves of unwanted or unneeded prescription drugs during a prescription drug take-back initiative to be held on Saturday, April 27, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Residents can bring unused, unwanted or expired medications to the Freeport Public Safety building on Main Street for proper disposal.

According to Freeport police Lt. Susan Nourse, the goal of the program is twofold: To lessen the environmental impact of prescription medications in groundwater and to keep the drugs away from potential criminal activity, where popular painkillers such as Oxycontin are often stolen from homes and sold on the black market.

The drug take-back is spearheaded by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, which has held five prior events during the past three years at more than 5,500 locations across the country. According to the agency, more than 2 million pounds of prescription medications were removed from circulation nationally.

Freeport residents can dispose of controlled, non-controlled and over-the-counter substances. Intra-venous solutions and syringes cannot be accepted. The police are recommending removing the label from a container or drawing a black line through the information. The program is completely anonymous, according to the Freeport police.

The Consumer Health Information Corp., a Virginia-based patient advocacy group, has cited recent studies that have found traceable amounts of antibiotics, prescription hormones, antidepressants and blood pressure medications in the nation’s water sources.

– Matthew Stilphen