DUI Checkpoints and Attempts to Offset Prescription Drug Abuse Take-Back

Newsflash from your Hollywood Attorney:

Medication Take-Back
The new team is encouraging residents to drop off potentially dangerous, expired, unused and unwanted prescription pills at the NPD on Saturday, Oct. 26 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The NPD and the Drug Enforcement Administration partnered, giving the public its seventh opportunity in three years to prevent pill abuse, Sgt. Sophia Winter said.

“Last April, Americans turned in 371 tons of prescription drugs at more than 5,800 sites operated by the DEA and its thousands of state and local law enforcement partners,” Winter said. “In its six previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners took in more than 2.8 million pounds — more than 1,400 tons — of pills.”

Often times, users obtain prescription drugs from family and friends, finding extra medication in medicine cabinets. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses, Winter said.

The DEA is also in the process of approving new regulations that implement the Safe and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, meaning the medication’s user is obligated to dispose of unused medication at locations authorized by the Attorney General. The Act also allows the Attorney General to authorize long-term care facilities to dispose of their residents’ controlled substances.

The NPD’s pill disposal is located at 909 Machin Avenue in Novato and is free and anonymous.

DUI checkpoints
The NPD was awarded a new traffic safety grant for an anti-DUI program aimed at preventing death and injury on the road.

“The city of Novato has, unfortunately, seen a steady increase in DUI-related incidents,” Chief James Berg said. “The community deserves to be safe from the dangers created by DUI drivers.”

The $29,100-grant was awarded by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and will provide additional enforcement measures to combat impaired driving.

“The NPD is dedicated to keeping our streets safe through both enforcement and education,” Sgt. Eric Riddell said.

The grant will specifically target impaired driving offenders and officers hope to educate the public at each DUI and driver’s license checkpoint.

“When possible, specially trained officers will be available to evaluate those suspected of drug-impaired driving,” Riddell said. “Drunk and drugged driving are among America’s deadliest crimes.”

In 2011, 774 people were killed and more than 24,000 were injured in alcohol and drug-impaired crashes in California, Riddell said.

Novato however, did not experience a single fatality in 2011, though 16 injuries resulted in DUI-related collisions. Too offset the numbers, the NPD publicizes its checkpoints, resulting in a 20 percent drop of alcohol-related crashes.

“Checkpoints have proven to be the most effective of any of the DUI enforcement strategies,” Riddell said, “while yielding considerable cost savings of $6 for every $1 spent.”

Source.... http://www.marinscope.com/novato_advance/news/article_b9890140-3c46-11e3-ab14-001a4bcf887a.html

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