The Shelby County Drug Enforcement Task Force (SCDETF) and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) are sponsoring National Prescription Take Back Day this Saturday, Sept. 27, at various locations throughout Shelby County.
The drug take-back day provides citizens the opportunity to properly dispose of unused, expired, or unwanted prescription or over-the-counter medications. The drop-off is free and anonymous. No questions asked.
Bring your medications for disposal between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. to one of the following locations:
- CVS at 520 Highway 119, Alabaster;
- CVS at 4685 Highway 17, Helena;
- Pelham Police Department at 32 Philip Davis Street, Pelham;
- University of Montevallo on Main at 737 Main Street, Montevallo; and
- Winn Dixie at 500 Inverness Corners, Hoover.
Medication take-back events address a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that stay in home cabinets are easily stolen and abused. Prescription drug abuse in the U.S. is alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.
According to the DEA, on April 26, 2014, citizens turned in 780,168 pounds (390 tons) of unwanted or expired medications for safe and proper disposal at the 6,072 take-back sites that were available in all 50 states and U.S. territories. Shelby County residents turned in approximately 166 pounds of unwanted medications at six locations that day.
Lt. Turner of the SCDETF stated, “Prescription medication is the number one drug of choice in Alabama, and these take-back events afford our citizens the opportunity to safely and securely dispose of unwanted medications that might end up in the hands of our children, spouse, family members, and others.”