National Prescription Medication Take Back Day will take place on Saturday, October 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Orange County Sheriff's Department South Substation in Aliso Viejo at 11 Journey

Intravenous solutions, needles (sharps) and syringes will not be accepted at the event; however, information about the nearest syringe disposal sites will be available.

The need for such an event is evident. According to the 2011 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), twice as many Americans regularly abused prescription drugs than the number of those who regularly used cocaine, hallucinogens, heroin, and inhalants combined. That same study revealed more than 70 percent of people abusing prescription pain relievers got them through friends or relatives, a statistic that includes raiding the family medicine cabinet.

Last year, illegal drugs were the cause of 20 percent of Orange County’s 330 overdose incidents. Prescription drugs were involved in 57 percent of the cases, 188 deaths. The report detailed all death investigations by the coroner’s office for 2012.

This prescription drug epidemic is especially growing in Orange County and takes an Orange County life every two days. Not only is the death count rising from drug overdose, but it has now exceeded deaths by car crashes, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control. This is a great opportunity for folks who missed previous events or who have subsequently accumulated unwanted, unused prescription drugs to safely dispose of those medications.