Held outside the main entrance to the Sheriff’s Office, 401 Justice Blvd., in Griffin, the take-back day will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 29. It is an opportunity for people to being in their old, expired or unused prescription medications for proper disposal, said Special Agent John Ahnen of Spalding County Sheriff’s Office Special Operations.
Ahnen said the event is primarily for prescription pills. They will not be accepting liquids or syringes.
The medications will be accepted, no questions asked, to be turned in to the DEA to be destroyed, Ahnen said.
The event is in conjunction with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, which is an opportunity for those who missed the previous events, or who have subsequently accumulated unwanted, unused prescription drugs, to safely dispose of those medications, according to the DEA.
The last event was April 28, and nationally citizens turned in a record-breaking 552,161 pounds (276 tons) of unwanted or expired medications for safe and proper disposal at the 5,659 take-back sites that were available in all 50 states and U.S. territories. When the results of the four Take-Back Days to date are combined, the DEA and its state, local, and tribal law-enforcement and community partners have removed over 1.5 million pounds (774 tons) of medication from circulation.
“We are pleased at the response of the American people once again, and we thank them for participating and contributing to the battle against prescription drug abuse,” said DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart.
“While a uniform system for prescription drug disposal is being finalized, we will continue to sponsor these important take-back opportunities as a service to our communities,” Leonhart said in a press release. “Our take-back events highlight the problems related to prescription drug abuse and give our citizens an opportunity to contribute to the solution.”
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