This is interesting. The DEA (U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration) and the DOJ (U.S. Department of Justice) just announced that… “on September 25, 2010, collection sites around the country will take any expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs for safe, legal, and environmentally friendly disposal” under the “National Take Back Initiative” plan.

Apparently, if you click on the official “GOT DRUGS?” banner below…

…you will be taken the “Office Of Diversion Control” page, where you can key in your zip code and find local places that will take back any of your unused prescription meds and have them safely dispose of them for you.

I know chunking prescription meds down the sink or in the trash is all kinds of bad (specifically mentioned [HERE] and [HERE] and [HERE] and [HERE] and [HERE]), and it really is great that there is a way to get old prescription meds out of the home, but looking at the Diversion Control page, four out of four dropoff locations for this program in my area are at police stations.

Not that I have anything to drop off that I’m ashamed of, but wouldn’t it have been better just to permanently leave a DISPOSE OF YOUR OLD EXPIRED RATTY PRESCRIPTION MEDS HERE bin in front of some key locations? Kind of like most grocery stores do for paper, plastics and electronics? Make it a lockdown, biohazard, no-access drop-in-only bin like all the hospitals have and be done with it? Or maybe something like the post office has where you pull down a drop door, put your meds in, and let the drop door go and have the meds fall into a restricted collection bin?

I say this because, with these “permanent” collection bin ideas, people will feel somewhat anonymous dropping off their meds, and the collection will not just be on that one Saturday when everyone is going to show up at once.

Also worth mentioning is that “Intra-venous solutions, injectables, and needles will not be accepted” under the “National Take Back Initiative” plan and “Illicit substances such as marijuana or methamphetamine are not a part of this initiative.”

Oh yeah. You know some idiot pothead is going to turn in his useless stash at some location. I just hope there are cameras around for the “whaaaaaaaat” reaction shot!

Here’s the official release from the DOJ and here’s the link to the drug-dropoff finder page.