The National Drug Enforcement Agency will be holding a National Take Back Day Initiative on Saturday, Oct. 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The purpose of this program is to provide residents with a safe and convenient method of disposal of unwanted and outdated medications.

Unless handled properly, prescription drugs can, and most likely will, cause great and lasting harm to our environment and to our society. The goal of the Take Back Day Initiative is to try to prevent such harm from happening by assisting citizens with the often complicated and messy task of medication disposal while raising awareness of the dangers of prescription drug abuse.

Lincoln County will have five collection sites for residents to bring their unwanted medications. There will be law enforcement officers at all collection sites. Please do not leave medication at a collection site outside of scheduled hours. The collection sites for Lincoln County are the following:

Boothbay Harbor: Boothbay Harbor Town Office

Wiscasset: Lincoln County Communication Center

Damariscotta: Miles Memorial Hospital

Waldoboro: Sproul Block Apartments

Whitefield (Coopers Mills): Sheepscot Valley Health

Prescription and non-prescription medications, over-the-counter substances, and medications for pets will be accepted, as well as liquid pharmaceutical products such as cough syrup. All liquid pharmaceuticals should remain in original containers with caps sealed to prevent leakage. Needles and syringes will not be accepted.

The public will not subjected to any questions regarding discarded medications, nor will there be any record made of particular types, or amounts, of medications brought to collection sites. Every effort will be made to protect privacy. Participants are encouraged to remove all personal identifying information from prescription labels before disposing medications.

Law enforcement officials urge the public to be especially careful in the days leading up to the Drug Take Back Day. Criminals have used these times to try to obtain drugs illegally by posing as members of law enforcement and offering assistance with medication disposal.

Never give medications to anyone other than a uniformed law enforcement officer. Notify law enforcement immediately of suspicious behavior, especially unsolicited offers of assistance in discarding medications at your home.