BECKLEY, WV (WOAY) – The Beckley Police Department is participating in the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) national drug take scheduled for Saturday, October 24, 2020 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
This event will provide the public the opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs. Bring your pills for disposal to Sam’s Club at 1220 N. Eisenhower Drive. (Sites cannot accept liquids, needles or sharps, only pills or patches.) The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
This October 24, 2020 event is DEA’s 19th nationwide event since its inception 10 years ago.
Last fall, Americans turned in nearly 883,000 pounds of prescription drugs at nearly 6,300 sites operated by the DEA and almost 5,000 of its state and local law enforcement partners. DEA, along with its law enforcement partners, has now collected nearly 6,350 tons of expired, unused, and unwanted prescription medications since the inception of the National Prescription Drug Take Back Initiative in 2010.
To keep everyone safe, collection sites will follow local COVID-19 guidelines and regulations.
This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.
