People were lined up two hours early at the Augusta Police Department on Saturday for the fourth National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration spearheaded the event from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at eight collection sites in the area. Anyone could drop off unused or expired prescription medications in their original, labeled containers.

Residents turned over prescription drugs at police and fire stations, drug stores, town halls and transfer stations.

Edna Allen of Augusta was one of the first to arrive at the police station on Saturday for the four-hour event.

Allen, 90, handed Lt. Kevin Tully a large freezer bag of medications that belonged to her recently deceased brother-in-law.

“I didn’t want them to end up anywhere else,” Allen said. “I want them disposed of safely. They’re dangerous. I don’t want them in our water supply and I don’t want animals to get them or people. I was so happy when I heard about this.”

Tully said the collection event was scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., but people started arriving with their unwanted medications at 8 a.m.

“We’ve been receiving deposits throughout the morning,” he said. “The community has really taken ownership of this. We’ve had a great turnout every year we’ve done this.”

The Associated Press reported that more than 7 tons of prescription drugs were turned in during last fall’s drug take-back day. According to the Office of the Maine Attorney General, Maine ranked first in the nation for the amount of drug collected per capita in each of the last three years.

Nearly a million of pounds of prescription drugs were turned in during the three previous take-back days in Maine.

Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety, said the past efforts have removed tons of unwanted prescriptions from Maine homes, making them safer for the occupants and less of a target for criminals looking for a fix.

“Maine police are continuing to find that drugs is playing a greater role in most of the crime numbers we deal with, and the take-back efforts have removed those drugs out of our homes and off our streets,” McCausland said.

He said several police departments and the Maine Department of Public Safety now have drop boxes in lobbies for anyone to deposit unwanted drugs through the year.

Debbie Howard, 64, of Augusta handed Tully a plastic shopping bag filled prescription drugs.

Howard also didn’t want her discarded prescription drugs to end up in the environment.

“I was never sure how to dispose of them. I didn’t want them going down the flush or in landfills so I just kept a hold of them until I had a chance to get rid of them properly,” Howard said. “This is a great way for everybody to get rid of them safely.”

In more rural areas, many of the drop-off sites were at transfer stations.

Karen Peterson, a town employee, helped the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office collect drugs at the Readfield-Wayne transfer station on the North Road in Readfield.

“We must have collected 50 or 60 pounds of medications today,” Peterson said. “We really did well. We had a great turnout. I think it’s a great thing to do and a lot of residents commented on how much they appreciated it. I hope we’ll be able to do it again in the future.”

Mechele Cooper — 621-5663

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