A drug take-back event is scheduled for Saturday.
The 11th annual effort hosted by the Drug Enforcement Agency is set for 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., Saturday, April 29, at Walmart in Houston. All pharmaceuticals are accepted, including veterinary and over-the-counter drugs. No signatures are required and no questions are asked.
Unused or expired prescription medications are a public safety issue, leading to accidental poisoning, overdose and abuse. Pharmaceutical drugs can be just as dangerous as street drugs when taken without a prescription or doctors supervision. The non-medical use of prescription drugs ranks second only to marijuana as the most common form of drug abuse in America. The majority of teenagers abusing prescription drugs get them from family and friends and the home medicine cabinet.
Unused prescription drugs thrown in the trash can be retrieved and abused or illegally sold. Unused drugs that are flushed contaminate the water supply. Antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones have been found in the drinking water supplies of 41 million Americans. The drugs have also been discovered in deep underground aquifers of 24 states tested, Missouri included. Public and private waste water systems are not designed to take these pharmaceuticals out of the water before they are discharged into rivers, streams and lakes. Proper disposal saves lives and protects the environment. The only acceptable disposal method is leaving the pharmaceuticals at a DEA collection site for incineration.
The Houston event is sponsored by the Houston Police Department, Texas County Sheriff’s Department as well as the Missouri Rural Water Association and Missouri Stream Team.
A pharmaceutical drug drop box is available anytime in the Texas County Jail lobby.
For more information on prescription drug abuse, visit www.dea.gov. Other sites include www.getsmartaboutdrugs.com and www.justthinktwice.com.