Annual drug take-back event announced

An annual event to dispose of unused or unwanted pharmaceuticals is next weekend in Houston.

Sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Agency, the drug take-back event is 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27, at Walmart. All pharmaceuticals, including veterinary and over-the-counter drugs, will be accepted.  No signatures are required, and no questions are asked. 

The DEA says unused or expired prescription medications are a public safety issue, leading to accidental poisoning, overdose and abuse. Pharmaceutical drugs can be just as dangerous as street drugs when taken without a prescription or doctor’s supervision. The non-medical use of prescription drugs ranks second only to marijuana as the most common form of drug abuse in America. The majority of teenagers abusing prescription drugs get them from family and friends and the home medicine cabinet. The DEA says you could be a drug dealer and not even know it.

Unused prescription drugs thrown in the trash can be retrieved and abused or illegally sold. Unused drugs that are flushed contaminate the water supply. Antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones have been found in the drinking water supplies of 41 million Americans. These drugs have also been discovered in deep underground aquifers of 24 states tested, including Missouri. Public and private waste water systems are not designed to take these pharmaceuticals out of the water before they are discharged into rivers, streams and lakes. 

Houston’s take-back event is hosted by the Houston Police Department, the Texas County Sheriff’s Department and the Big Piney River Stream Team Watershed Association. At the event, sponsors will present to the public a pharmaceutical drug drop box that is available to the public at the Texas County Jail. 

For more information on prescription drug abuse, visit www.dea.gov. Other sites include www.getsmartaboutdrugs.com and www.justthinktwice.com.