By J.R. Tidwell/Editor

 

Clanton Police Department will be participating in the DEA’s national Drug Take Back Day April 28.

CPD will be at the CVS in Clanton, which is located at 1105 Seventh Street North, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to collect unwanted or outdated prescription or over the counter medication from Chilton County residents.

“The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day addresses a crucial public safety and public health issue,” according to the DEA’s website on the program. “According to the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 6.4 million Americans abused controlled prescription drugs. The study shows that a majority of abused prescription drugs were obtained from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet.”

The aim of Drug Take Back Day is to provide a “safe, convenient and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications,” according to a post on CPD’s Facebook page.

According to the DEA’s website, 4,274 law enforcement agencies participated in the last national Drug Take Back Day, which was held on Oct. 28, 2017. There were a total of 5,321 collection sites nationwide that collected a total of 912,305 pounds of unwanted medication.

There were 7,019 pounds of unwanted medication collected in Alabama alone that day.

“We have had some good results in the past,” said Capt. David Clackley with CPD. “It gives people a place to bring their unwanted prescription medication. Kids accidentally get into them sometimes, medicines go bad and there is a lot of prescription medication theft. People don’t know where to go to get rid of it, so we participate. We destroy the unwanted medication turned over to us.”

Clackley said there is no real restriction as to which medications can be turned in during the event.

“If it came from a pharmacy and you don’t need it anymore, we will take it,” he said.