08 Apr National Drug Take Back Day April 2016

Local police departments and the Drug Enforcement Administration will participate in National Drug Take Back Day on April 30 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. They will give the public the opportunity to prevent prescription drug abuse by properly disposing of potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs. The service is free and anonymous.

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. In addition, the usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards. Prescription drugs should be taken to a local police station or pharmacy to be properly disposed of.

Facts about prescription drug use*:

• Prescription drug abuse is the second most prevalent illicit drug problem in the U.S.
  • 60% of teens get prescription drugs from a friend or relative
  • 62% of teens say it’s easy to get prescription drugs from parent’s medicine cabinets
  • The United states is 5% of the world’s population, yet it consumes 75% of the world’s prescription drugs
  • Approximately 7.6 million people, aged 12 or older, are current nonmedical users of prescription drugs

*Facts according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse

Drop off locations:

Tyler:

• University of Texas at Tyler Police Department, UT Tyler PD, 3410 Varsity Dr. Tyler, TX, 75701
• Tyler Police Department, Brookshires at 100 Rice Rd., Tyler, TX, 75703
• U.T. Health Northeast Police Department, 11937 US Highway 271, Tyler, TX 75703

Kilgore:

• Kilgore Police Department, CVS Parking Lot, 1000 Stone Rd., Kilgore, TX, 75662

Henderson:

• Henderson Police Department, CVS Parking Lot, 725 E. Main, Henderson, TX 75652

Texarkana:

• Texarkana Police Department, Texarkana Police Department/Bi-state task force permanent drop box, 100 N. State Line Ave, Texarkana, AR 71854
• Texarkana Police Department, Texarkana Police Department TASD Admin. Building, 3400 Jefferson Ave., Texarkana, AR 71854

The full list of collection sites can be found at dea.gov.