April 6, 2016
Drug Take Back set for Saturday, April 30 in Murphy
Police department will accept medications with no questions asked
MURPHY (April 6, 2016) The local Drug Take Back program, in which the Murphy Police Department accepts unwanted or expired prescription drugs for disposal, has become so popular and highly-utilized that officials have returned to having two-a-year, says Lt. Adana Barber.
“We cooperate with the federal Drug Enforcement Agency on these events,” she said. “And, while we had followed their lead in going from twice a year to once a year, we now want to provide two opportunities annually for this important function.”
The spring version of the Drug Take Back event will be held on Saturday, April 30 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Murphy Police Department lobby, 206 North Murphy Road. A second event will be held in the fall.
The twice-a-year effort is designed to provide a place where unwanted or expired drugs can be safely and securely taken to remove them from circulation and to prevent them from being introduced into the water supply. Several fully-attended collection receptacles will be available to accept the drugs for eventual disposal. The service is free and anonymous. Police personnel will ask no questions as to the origin of the drugs.
Nevertheless, new or used needles, new or used syringes and full or empty pressurized inhalers will not be accepted. The last several Drug Take Back events have resulted in local residents bringing in an average of 200 pounds of unused, unwanted, expired or unknown drugs, both of the prescription and over-the-counter variety.
“Accepting and disposing these drugs can prevent them from being abused,” she said. “Over 70 percent of people abusing prescription pain relievers get them through friends or relatives right out of the family medicine cabinet.”
Also, people who flush prescription drugs down their toilets or sinks may be placing the larger community at risk, since the contaminated wastewater may eventually find its way back into the system.
For more information on the program, residents may call (972) 468-4210 or send an e-mail to Lt. Barber at abarber@murphytx.org.
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