AG's office to sponsor Drug Take-Back Day on Saturday

CHARLESTON – West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey's office will participate in the ninth National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday near the East Rotunda on the California Street side of the West Virginia Capitol.

“We are happy to join in this endeavor once again to help rid our state and communities of unwanted prescriptions, as well as unused over-the-counter medication,” Morrisey said in a press release. “Our site will be one of more than 120 collection locations in the state, so if you can’t make it to the Capitol, please go to a location closer to you."

The federal Drug Enforcement Administration has a list of locations on its website.

West Virginia has one of the highest drug overdose mortality rate in the nation, at nearly 29 overdose deaths per 100,000 people. A federal report says the overdose death rate in the state climbed by 605 percent between 1999 and 2010.

The DEA spearheads the Drug Take-Back Day, which was initially launched in 2010. During the event, local and state law enforcement agencies collect unused medication and dispose of it in a safe way that prevents potential abuse and protects the environment. The DEA typically hosts two prescription drug take-back days per year: one in the spring and one in the fall.

“I would encourage everyone to take a look through their medicine cabinet and clean out any unused, unwanted, or expired medications and bring them to the event,” Morrisey said. “Even if the medicine is not one that typically is ‘abused,’ it is critical that pills, liquid and other forms of prescriptions are disposed of properly.

"Medicine that is thrown into the trash can be found by people looking to abuse drugs, and flushing it down the toilet can damage the environment.”

According to the 2011 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), more than six million Americans abuse prescription drugs. That same study revealed more than 70 percent of people abusing prescription pain relievers obtained them through friends or relatives, a statistic that includes raiding the family medicine cabinet.

“Everyone needs to work together to rid our communities of medicine we no longer need in the right way so it doesn’t end up in the wrong hands,” Morrisey said.