Greene County participating in Drug Take Back Day
The Greene County sheriff’s Office is teaming up with the county’s Drug and Alcohol Program to collect and dispose of unused prescription drugs during Saturday’s national Drug Take Back Day.
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., deputies and representatives from Drug and Alcohol will be stationed at the Church Street entrance of the county courthouse to collect unwanted or expired prescription pills.
According to a news release from the Drug and Alcohol Program, the event is “free and anonymous, no questions asked.”
“Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse,” according to a news release from the Drug Enforcement Administration. “Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.”
They can accept pills or patches, but no liquids, needles or sharps. The drugs will then go to the Drug Enforcement Administration for disposal.
According to the DEA’s Take Back Day website, the nation collected just short of 460 tons of prescription drugs during the last event in October. More than 4,700 law enforcement agencies participated, with more than 5,800 collection sites.
“It was successful last year,” said Melissa Kirk, director of the county’s Drug and Alcohol Program. “Individuals were bringing their medications and disposing of them properly.”
Other local police departments, such as Cumberland Township and the state police barracks in Franklin Township, have a 24/7 drop-off box available at their stations for residents who need to dispose of prescription drugs.