CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey's office will be involved in this weekend’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day by partnering with law enforcement and substance abuse prevention groups across the state.
Representatives from the AG's office will assist state agencies and groups in staffing take-back sites around the state Friday, October 28, and Saturday, October 29.
The AG's office will also join the Capitol Police and the state Department of Homeland Security from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday at the State Capitol Complex Safe Zone adjacent to the Culture Center at the Greenbrier/Washington Street entrance.
Morrisey
“This is a very important event,” Morrisey said. “I encourage anyone who has unused or unwanted prescription medications to participate so we can get potentially dangerous drugs off the streets. Take-back day has the potential to both reduce diversion of prescription opioids and help identify overprescribing in our state.”
The AG's office has participated in the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day each year since 2013. The office’s locations this weekend will be among dozens of collection sites in West Virginia.
Elsewhere this weekend, the AG's office will assist the Logan County Sheriff’s Office at the Community Park in Man from 10 a.m. to noon on Friday and Weston Municipal Building, 102 W. 2nd St., Weston; the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office, 510 S. Raleigh St., Martinsburg and the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, 200 N. Court St., Fayetteville, all from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.
The DEA spearheads Drug Take Back Day, which was launched in 2010. During the event, local and state law enforcement agencies collect unused medication and responsibly dispose of it. The DEA typically hosts two prescription drug take back days per year with one in the spring and one in the fall.
The Attorney General Public Health Trust previously awarded prescription drug incinerators to law enforcement agencies across the state. The incinerators are used to destroy unwanted/expired pills and are shared among law enforcement agencies.
The incinerators were awarded through the Dispose Responsibly of Prescriptions (DRoP) initiative, which also distributed drug disposal drop boxes throughout the state.