Prescription Take-Back Program Saturday

Release, Berkeley County Sheriff's Office:

On Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration will give the public another opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs.

Bring your medications for disposal to either the Sheriff's Office at 223 N. Live Oak Drive in Moncks Corner or the at 303-B Goose Creek Boulevard in Goose Creek. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

Americans participating in the DEA’s three previous Take-Back Days turned in nearly 1 million pounds of prescription drugs nationwide at nearly 5,300 sites operated by the DEA and more than 4,000 state and local law enforcement partners.

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse.

Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.

In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in thetrash—both pose potential safety and health hazards.