HANOVER, Va. – On Saturday, October 24, 2020, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, in cooperation with Ashland Police Department and Hanover County Public Works, will be conducting a Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. This event is sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Administration- Office of Diversion Control. The Mechanicsville Convenience Center, 7427 Verdi Ln, Mechanicsville, VA 23116, and the Ashland Police Department, 601 England St, Ashland, VA 23005, have been established as collection sites.

This provides the public the opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs. Bring your pills for disposal (Sites cannot accept liquids, needles or sharps, only pills or patches). The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

Last fall Americans turned in nearly 441.5 tons (more than 882,000 pounds) of prescription drugs at 6,174 sites operated by the DEA and almost 6,174 of its state and local law enforcement partners. Overall, in its previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners have taken in more than millions of pounds of pills. 

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 United States are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows year after year that the majority of misused and abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including someone else’s medication being stolen 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. 

For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or about the October 24 Take Back Day event, go to www.TakeBackDay.gov.