Officials take drugs out of homes
Area law enforcement will be doing their part this Saturday to make sure Franklin County residents have a safe way to dispose of outdated or unwanted prescription medication.
Both the Russellville Police Department and the Red Bay Police Department will be participating in the National Take Back Initiative sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Russellville and Red Bay police departments will be collecting prescription medication from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. with RPD’s collection site being at the Russellville Fire Department’s Station 1 on South Jackson Avenue and RBPD’s collection site being at the Senior Adult Center in downtown Red Bay.
“With prescription medications being something people abuse every day, this initiative provides a safe and lawful environment to get rid of these medicines,” Russellville Police Chief Chris Hargett said.
According to the DEA, studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including the home medicine cabinet.
“Prescription medications are something everyone has and a lot of people have extra medication they didn’t use that just sits in their cabinets or that’s out of date,” Hargett said. “Disposing of this medication properly will ensure it doesn’t get into the wrong hands.”
The 2009 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health reported that more than seven million Americans currently abuse prescription drugs.
The Partnership for a Drug Free America also found that 2,500 teens use prescriptions drugs each day to get high for the first time.
With numbers like these, area law enforcement officers understand how vital it is to utilize opportunities like the Take Back Initiative to give citizens a chance to do the right thing the right way.
“Throwing these things in the garbage just isn’t safe,” Hargett said. “Someone could take advantage of that situation and their abuse of prescription medication could seriously harm them or someone else.”
The first National Take Back Initiative was held last year on September 25 and, according to DEA records, over 121 tons of pills were collected on that day, which DEA officials said represented a huge success in removing dangerous prescription drug and controlled substances from household across the nation.
Over 3,000 law enforcement agencies participated in the first National Take Back Initiative, including Red Bay.
“The Take Back Initiative is obviously a good program because of the success from the last event in September,” Red Bay Police Chief Janna Jackson said. “We’ll have an officer supervising the drop-off and no questions will be asked. We hope many residents will take the opportunity this Saturday to dispose of their prescription drugs.”
