Local Events Scheduled for National Take Back Day

TYLER — Local substance abuse prevention coalitions and law enforcement officials have partnered with the Drug Enforcement Administration as part of National Drug Take Back Day. October 26th is a national effort to help safely dispose of unused prescription drugs. The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at various locations with participating East Texas law enforcement. During that time, community members can discard potentially dangerous expired, unused or unwanted prescription drugs. The service is free and anonymous.

Local locations include: Brookshire’s on Rice Road in Tyler, the U.T. Health Science Center at Tyler Northeast Campus, Walmart in Kilgore, the Jacksonville Police Department, the Athens Police Department, the Hallsville Police Department, Walmart in Marshall, and the Harrison County Sherriff’s Office. Next Step Community Solutions, a Tyler-based nonprofit, has three youth substance abuse prevention coalitions that cover nine counties, The East Texas Substance Abuse Coalition, Piney Woods Substance Abuse Coalition and Northeast Texas Coalition Against Substance Abuse. Locally, there are more controlled substances prescribed per capita than in the state, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. Sixty-two percent of teens say it’s easy to get prescription drugs from parents’ medicine cabinets, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. In addition to the DEA Drug Take Back Day, the public can dispose of their unused medications year-round at permanent drop boxes across East Texas. The list of safe disposal locations can be found at http://www.easttexasrx.com.