Police set Drug Take Back event for Saturday, April 22  

Officials will accept unwanted drugs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

MURPHY (April 3, 2023) The Murphy Police Department has scheduled the year’s first Drug Take Back event, the twice-yearly program designed to remove potentially dangerous drugs and medications from general circulation.

The spring version of the program is set for Saturday, April 22 at the Murphy Police Department headquarters, 206 North Murphy Road. The service is free and anonymous.

“Residents can now add the year’s first Drug Take Back event to their calendars,” says Lt. Adana Barber of the Murphy Police Department. “Unneeded or unwanted drugs and medications can be dropped off in a free, easy way. Taking these drugs and medications and disposing of them properly is much better for our community than allowing them to be abused or dumped into drains at home.” 

Keeping drugs and medications out of circulation and out of the water system are two reasons the Murphy Police Department participates in the Drug Take Back program. The Take Back event set for April 22 runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. During that time, members of the Murphy Police Department will be accepting unwanted or expired prescription drugs for disposal. For added convenience, officials will accept the drugs and medications from participants who drive up to the area facing the Police Headquarters. 

“Participants can drive right up to our parking area, 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 events provide a place where unwanted or expired drugs can be safely and securely taken rather than placed in the trash or dumped into household drains. 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. 

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.

For more information on the program, residents may call (972) 468-4210 or send an e-mail to Lt. Barber at abarber@murphytx.org.