SACRAMENTO – Senator Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel) encourages residents to properly discard their unneeded prescription medications by participating in the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, which takes place this Saturday, October 27th. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) sponsors the biannual event, which aims to provide a safe, convenient and responsible way to dispose of prescription drugs. According to the DEA, during the Last Take Back Day in April, Americans turned in nearly 475 tons of unused prescription drugs at more than 5,800 sites.

“I encourage all Californians to do their part to keep their families and communities safe by participating in the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. This is a small, but vital step that will help reduce the chances of prescription medications being misused.

“The DEA tells us that 6.2 million Americans abused controlled prescription drugs and often get their supplies from their unsuspecting friends or families’ medicine cabinets. Taking medications not prescribed to you is dangerous and could be life-threatening,” said Senator Bates.

Here is a list of locations where San Diego and Orange County residents in the 36th Senate District can drop-off their unused prescription medications on October 27th:

San Diego County

• Carlsbad Police Department: 2176 Salk Ave., Carlsbad, CA 92008
• Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas: 354 Santa Fe Dr., Encinitas, CA 92024
• Oceanside Police Department: 4002 Vista Way, Oceanside, CA 92056
• Walgreens Pharmacy’s Parking Lot: 310 Sycamore Ave., Vista, CA 92083

Orange County

• Laguna Hills City Hall: 24035 El Toro Road, Laguna Hills, CA 92653
• Mission Viejo City Hall: 200 Civic Center, Mission Viejo, CA 92692
• San Juan Capistrano City Hall: 32400 Paseo Adelanto, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675

To see a list of collection sites near you on Take Back Day, go to www.DEATakeBack.com.

Addressing the opioid crisis in California is one of Senator Bates’ top legislative priorities.  Senator Bates authored Senate Bill 1109 in partnership with the San Diego County District Attorney which will increase opioid preventative education and educate the public, especially young people and student athletes, by explaining the risk of addiction and overdose from prescription opioids. SB 1109 has been signed into law and will go into effect January 1, 2019.