CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Law enforcement agencies from across the country will be participating in Drug Take Back Day this weekend to help get expired and unused drugs out of cabinets.
Drug Take Back Day is a nationwide effort that sees officers standing in front of participating stores to accept the drugs that need disposed of. For yet another year, the Charleston Police Department will have officers posted and ready to help keep citizens safe.
Officers will be at five different locations across Charleston on Saturday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
Lt. David Payne
Lt. David Payne says this effort is a way to know exactly where the pills are going.
“It’s just a controlled way that we know if that they’re going to be taken and disposed of properly,” Payne said.
Payne says it’s important for citizens to be intentional with how they dispose of these pills that are no longer needed, as a single careless move put them in the wrong hands.
“You really just don’t know whose hands they’re going to fall into. It could be somebody visiting or it could be children,” Payne said. “We also don’t want them dumped into our waterways. That could cause a lot of dangers also.”
Payne also says that one of the worst things to do with unused or expired pills is to throw them away in the garbage.
“You definitely don’t want it to be put in the trash because you never know who’s going to be going through your trash and using those drugs or even distributing those drugs,” Payne said.
According to Payne, CPD collected over 100 pounds of unused or expired prescription drugs during last year’s Drug Take Back Day.
The Charleston locations participating in Drug Take Back Day are as follows:
- Walgreens Drug Emporium
655 Washington St W. 1603 Kanawha Blvd - WV Drug Intervention Institute
118 Capital St. - Fruth Pharmacy
854 Oakwood Rd. - Kroger’s Ashton Place
1100 Fledderjohn Rd. - Piggly Wiggly
5003 MacCorkle Ave Se