Get rid of old prescription medications on National Drug Take Back Day

WISCONSIN (CBS 58) -- If you have any old prescription medicine stashed in the back of a medicine cabinet or drawer at home, and you've put off getting rid of them, you'll want to know about Saturday. 

It's National Drug Take Back Day, and 270 law enforcement agencies across Wisconsin are urging you to drop off those drugs. 

Attorney General Josh Kaul held a press conference Tuesday to highlight the importance of Drug Take Back Day. These medications should never be flushed down the toilet or the drain because water treatment facilities are not designed to remove all the dangerous pharmaceuticals. You don't want them ending up in our rivers and lakes and leaving them around the house is maybe even more dangerous.

"Unfortunately, one of the ways prescription painkillers are abused is that they end up in the hands of people who weren't prescribed those painkillers," said AG Kaul. "That can be as simple as somebody rifling through a medicine cabinet at a family member or friend's or neighbor's house, and that can lead to addiction."

Saturday, Oct. 26, is Drug Take Back Day. For the closest location to you, click here.