CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Drug Take-Back Day is making a return to West Virginia this Saturday.
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. residents can drop off any unwanted, expired or unused medications at locations across the state. Residents are urged to contact their local county sheriff’s office for a list of drop off sites.
“They can bring cough medicines and such, but we don’t want any leaking containers of liquids and no needles,” said Moundsville Police Chief Tom Mitchell who is handling the drug take-back program in Marshall County.
Officers with the Moundsville Police Department will be at the CVS on 12th Street. Prescriptions can also be dropped off at the police department.
The dangers of people getting into drugs they’re not supposed to are serious, Mitchell told MetroNews, so they want to make sure people are aware of the event.
“If they’re laying around, they can get into the wrong hands,” he said. “Somebody who doesn’t make good decisions could get your pills and take them and have a problem.”
Kanawha County Chief Deputy Mike Rutherford agreed and said the effort taking place in his county will help remove drugs out of homes.
“You have a problem of the possibility of the drugs being stolen, illegally abused, accidentally taken by children and improperly disposed of by flushing them down tht toilet, which contaminates the water supplies,” he said.
Drug take-back events take place throughout the state every six months. Since last fall, both Mitchell and Rutherford said they made a ton of collections with drop offs welcome at the departments year-round.
“During the course of the six months, between when we have the take backs we’ll end up with 150 pounds, roughly, of unused pharmaceuticals to turn in,” Mitchell said.
“We’ve been extremely successful with this,” Rutherford said. “Literally hundreds and hundreds of pounds of prescription medication has been dropped off to us.”
Residents in Kanawha County can drop off medications at the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office and the following police detachments: Quincy, Cross Lanes, Elkview, Sissonville and St. Albans.
“It’s a good initiative to make sure that those drugs are disposed in a very safe manner,” said Berkeley County Sheriff Kenneth Lemaster.
Drop offs are accepted throughout the year at the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office, Lemaster said.
“People can come in up until midnight and drop off drugs into a drop box. We also collect that way,” he said.
Locations in Berkley County include the Spring Mills Walmart, the Martinsburg Walmart and the South Berkley Fire Department. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will then pick up the drugs and destroy them, Lemaster said.
For all other locations statewide, residents are urged to contact their local county sheriff’s department for a list of drop off sites.