Perryville Library, Police Host Drug Take-Back Program Saturday

This weekend, Perryville will join thousands of jurisdictions in providing drop-off sites for unwanted prescription medications as part of National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.

On Saturday, the Perryville Police Department is accepting old or unwanted medications in a drop-off station at the Perryville library.

The last two times the Perryville Police Department has participated in the program, it received approximately 125 pounds of prescription drugs, according to Chief Vincent Wernz.

Sometimes, a loved one dies and family members don't know what to do with their leftover medication, Wernz said, so "this provides an outlet."

In addition, Wernz said, "a lot of people flush medication down the toilet and we don’t want it to go there," because it can cause problems with the water system.

Since there are laws preventing flushing medications down the toilet, Wernz added, the government established this take-back program to give people a way to get rid of them.

"It’s prescription drugs, not the illegal drugs," Wernz said. "If people brought that, we wouldn’t turn it down. We'd just take it and have everything incinerated."

According to Wernz, all of the medications collected go to the DEA for incineration.

The Perryville Police Department is coordinating a drug take-back day on Saturday, April 27, at the Cecil County Library's Perryville branch (500 Coudon Blvd.) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the meeting room on the right near the entrance.

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