CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Law enforcement agencies across West Virginia will be at nearly 100 locations this Saturday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agencies’ National Drug Take Back Day.
Residents are encouraged to bring any unwanted, expired or unused prescription drugs to the drop off sites. They will then be disposed by the DEA.
“They can drop off any type of medication as long as it’s not in a liquid form or in a syringe,” said David Gourley, DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge in Charleston.
Leaving unused pill bottles in medicine cabinets have lead to dangerous situations nationwide resulting in death. Over the last year, 52,000 people died of drug overdoses, Gourley said.
“Of those — a lot of them started with people taking some type of abusive medication,” he said.
The medications could get into the wrong hands. Sgt. Brian Humphreys with the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office said they want to avoid that.
“It’s dangerous for those drugs to be left around where a child or someone else could take them accidentally or intentionally abuse them,” Humphreys said.
The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department will be at five of their detachments in Quincy, Cross Lanes, Elkview and St. Albans, Sissonville.
Jackson County Sheriff Tony Boggs said his department will be at three sites in Ravenswood, Ripley and Kenna. He said the event is a safe way to dispose of these drugs.
“That way we back sure that they’re properly disposed of as opposed to being flushed down the toilet or tossed out in the yard or whatever the other methods of disposal are that aren’t correct,” Boggs said.
Drug Take Back events take place throughout the state every six months, but Boggs said many law enforcement agencies have drop off boxes at their detachments year-round.
“Folks don’t have to wait for this day like they used to. Now they can drop them off at any of the local police agencies and dispose of them any time they want to, so we don’t have to wait for this particular Take Back Day,” he said.
To view a full list of drop off sites at a location near you, click here.