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LA Participates In National Drug Take Back Day

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Angelenos are being urged to dispose of potentially dangerous, expired, and unwanted prescriptions during Saturday's National Drug Take Back Day.

Los Angeles police said in a department statement that the agency along with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Kaiser Permanente have established five collection sites for prescription drop-offs.

The free service is anonymous with no questions asked, according to police.

Last September, "Americans turned in 488,395 pounds—244 tons—of prescription drugs at over 5,200 sites operated by the DEA and state and local law enforcement partners," according to the statement.

The collection sites will be open until 2 p.m. and will be accepting all medications with the exception of sharp needles.

Collection sites in Los Angeles include:

(1) Kaiser West LA: 6041 Cadillac Avenue in Los Angeles, 90034 (Parking Lot #3);

(2) Kaiser Panorama City: 13652 Cantara Street in Panorama City, 91402 (Front of North 3 Medical Office);

(3) Kaiser South Bay: 25825 S. Vermont Avenue in Harbor City, 90710 (Parkview Medical Office Building);

(4) Kaiser Sunset: 4760 West Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, 90027;

(5) Kaiser Woodland Hills: 5601 De Soto Avenue in Woodland Hills, 91367.

Collection sites in Orange County courtesy of the Orange County Sheriff's Department and DEA include:

(6) OCSD South Sub-Station: 11 Journey in Aliso Viejo, 92656;

(7) Laguna Hills City Hall: 24035 El Toro Road in Laguna Hills;

(8) Lake Forest City Hall: 25550 Commercentre in Lake Forest;

(9) Laguna Niguel City Hall: 30111 Crown Valley Parkway in Laguna Niguel;

(10) Mission Viejo City Hall: 200 Civic Center in Mission Viejo;

(11) Rossmoor Rush Park: 3021 Blume Drive in Rossmoor;

(12) San Clemente Police Services: 100 Avenida Presidio in San Clemente;

(13) San Juan Capistrano City Hall: 32400 Paseo Adelanto in San Juan Capistrano;

(14) Yorba Linda Community Center: 4501 Casa Loma Avenue in Yorba Linda.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department says their "Safe Drug Drop-Off" program is celebrating 4 years of success on Saturday.

Sheriff's Spokesperson Nicole Nishida told KNX 1070's Vytas Safroncikas that 42 tons of unwanted drugs and syringes have been taken off the streets anonymously.

LA Participates In National Drug Take Back Day

"Since the program's inception, it's been very successful. Since 2009, we've collected 53,000 pounds of prescription medication, 31,000 pounds of syringes and 78 pounds of illicit drugs," she said.

Safroncikas reports that prescription drugs may be dropped off at all hours of the day at all Los Angeles County sheriffs' stations with drop-off containers.

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