March 28, 2018
Drug Take Back event scheduled for Saturday, April 28
Officials will accept unwanted drugs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
MURPHY (March 28, 2018) The Murphy Police Department is holding the first of two Drug Take Back Day events on Saturday, April 28 at their headquarters.
“These popular events have become important for many residents,” says Lt. Adana Barber of the Murphy Police Department. “People who have drugs and medications they no longer need or want now have someplace to take them. The alternatives of keeping them in the medicine cabinet for who knows how long or flushing down the toilet are not good ones.”
Avoiding those alternatives is one reason the Murphy Police Department participates in the Drug Take Back program. The next program is set for Saturday, April 28 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. During that timeframe, members of the Murphy Police Department will be accepting unwanted or expired prescription drugs for disposal, and they’ll even come to your car in the parking area to collect them.
“Participants can drive right up to our parking spots facing the Police Department’s entry and we will walk up and take the drugs,” said Barber. “They won’t even have to get out of the car.” Inclement weather may prevent the curbside service, however.
The twice-a-year Drug Take Back 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. The service is free and anonymous.
Properly disposing of these drugs can prevent them from being abused, as statistics show that over 70 percent of people abusing prescription pain relievers get them through friends or relatives right out of the family medicine cabinet.
“It’s not unusual for Drug Take Back events to produce an accumulation of as much as 700 pounds of unused, unwanted, expired or unknown drugs,” she said. “We get both prescription and over-the-counter drugs and medications, and we take them all, with no questions asked.” New or used needles, new or used syringes and full or empty pressurized inhalers will not be accepted.
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.