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Berkeley Co. Sheriff’s Office to take back unwanted prescription drugs

pillsThis Saturday September 27, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) 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 front of the Sheriff’s Office at 223 N. Live Oak Dr. in Moncks Corner or the Goose Creeks Magistrate’s Office on Highway 52 in Goose Creek.

The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

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

Reports show that 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 the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards.

 

Nikki Gaskins Campbell
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