The dream team of the Island County Sheriff’s office, Oak Harbor Police Department and the Coupeville Marshals office will once again join with the Drug Enforcement Administration in a nationwide prescription drug “Take-Back” initiative that seeks to prevent increased pill abuse and theft.

Law enforcement officers will be collecting potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs for destruction at sites islandwind on Saturday, Oct. 29, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The sheriff’s office said the service is free and anonymous: No questions asked.

Collection sites will be manned at the Oak Harbor Police Department, the Coupeville Town Hall and the Island County Sheriff’s Office South Whidbey precinct in Freeland.

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Many Americans are not aware that medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are increasing at alarming rates, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.

Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, many Americans do not know how to properly dispose of their unused medicine, often flushing them down the toilet or throwing them away – both potential safety and health hazards.