Koon's Watch

On Saturday, Oct. 26, from 10 am to 2 pm the Sheriff’s Department will be accepting unused and unwated prescription medications.

Bring your pills and vaping devices for disposal to our headquarters at 521 Gibson Road or to Walgreens at 1903 S. Lake Drive (sites cannot accept liquids, needles or sharps, only pills or patches).

The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

Last fall Americans turned in more than 937,000 pounds of prescription drugs at nearly 6,300 sites operated by the US Drug Enforcement Administration and almost 5,000 of its state and local law enforcement partners.

In its 17 previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners have taken in more than 11.8 million pounds of pills.

We are proud to participate in this campaign.

The 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.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows year after year that the majority of misused and abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including someone else’s medication being stolen from the home medicine cabinet.

Americans are now advised not to flush or trash unused medicines.

For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or about the Oct. 26 Take Back Day event, go to www.DEATake-Back.com .