Drug Take Back Event Will Be Held Saturday, September 26 in Cherokee County

[COLUMBUS, KANSAS] – On September 26 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will give the public another 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 the Columbus Apple Market, Marvin’s IGA in Baxter Springs or the Galena City Hall. 

The last Drug Take Back Event was held last September before it was suspended nationally.  However, in the years of prior operation, the program had netted over 4.1 million pounds of prescription drugs at nearly 6,100 sites in America by the DEA and other law enforcement partners.

This free community service addresses a vital public safety and public health issue.  Medicines that unnecessarily remain in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.  Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their 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.

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