Spring’s Drug Take Back event on for Saturday, April 27    

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

MURPHY (April 9, 2024) The Murphy Police Department has scheduled 2024’s springtime 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 27 at the Murphy Police Department headquarters, 206 North Murphy Road. The service is free and anonymous. Another such event will occur in the fall. 

“Residents can now plan on participating in the year’s first Drug Take Back event,” says Lt. Adana Barber of the Murphy Police Department. “Unneeded or unwanted drugs and medications can be dropped off in a free and easy way simply by bringing them to the Police Department. We’ll handle the rest.” 

The April 27 Drug Take Back event will begin at 10 a.m. and end promptly at 2 p.m. During that time, members of the Murphy Police Department will be accepting unwanted or expired prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications for disposal. Boxes will be set up in the entry lobby of the Police Department. 

This year, residents may even bring and dispose of vaping equipment, so long as any batteries are removed. 

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.        

While keeping drugs and medications out of circulation and out of the water system are important reasons the Murphy Police Department participates in the Drug Take Back program, the program principally serves as a convenience to the public. People are often puzzled about what to do with expired drugs.

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 prescription and over-the-counter drugs and medications, and now including vaping cigarettes, 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 e-mail Lt. Barber at abarber@murphytx.org.