Several law enforcement agencies across East Texas are taking part in the national DEA Takeback event, a concerted effort to help residents safely dispose of their leftover prescription drugs.
“We are so proud to be able to host this event in Jefferson again,” said Jefferson Police Department Chief Florentino Perez. “Disposing of unneeded prescription drugs in the home is one of the best ways to keep them out of the wrong hands.”
In Jefferson, the event will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 24 at the Brookshire’s on East Broadway Street. All the other locations in East Texas will be held at that same time and date in 11 communities across East Texas. To see a list of all the locations, visit easttexasrx.com.
“Reducing prescription drug abuse in East Texas is one of our top priorities,” said Joseph Byrum, coalition coordinator for the Piney Woods Substance Abuse Coalition, which helps promote the event and educate the community. “We know that when teens abuse prescription drugs they typically get them from friends and family, sometimes taking them from an unmonitored medicine cabinet without the patient’s permission.”
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, more than half of people over age 12 who said they have taken a drug not prescribed to them get them for free from friends and family.
“There is no question that prescription drug abuse and theft from medicine cabinets is an issue for every East Texan,” said DEA Dallas Special Agent in Charge Eduardo A. Chavez. “DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back event is a way for every citizen to help prevent drug abuse from beginning in their own homes and from within their own families.”
Additionally, children or pets taking drugs from the trash is one of the top calls to poison control, Byrum said.
“The safest way to dispose of your leftover drugs is with law enforcement at a secure location,” he said.
If you can’t make the event, check out easttexasrx.com to see disposal box locations at law enforcement agencies and pharmacies across East Texas.
Next Step Community Solutions in Tyler is the parent nonprofit for three substance abuse coalitions in East Texas. The East Texas Substance Abuse Coalition covers Smith County. The Piney Woods Substance Abuse Coalition covers Gregg, Harrison, Marion, and Upshur counties. The Northeast Texas Coalition Against Substance Abuse covers Cass, Camp, Titus and Morris counties. The coalitions are funded by grants from Texas Health and Human Services.