By Gary Lloyd
JEFFERSON COUNTY — U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Clay A. Morris are encouraging residents of north Alabama to take advantage of DEA’s nationwide Pr drug abuse and heroin addiction, both at record rates in our community, are strongly linked,” Vance said. “Each of us has the responsibility to take every step possible to prevent access and addiction to these drugs and bring down our unacceptably high overdose death rates.”
The Prescription Drug Take-Back Day begins at 10 a.m. and lasts until 2 p.m. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked. DEA, however, can’t accept liquids or needles.
“Over the past several years, Alabama has seen a significant increase in the use and abuse of opiate-based prescription drugs,” Morris said. “Unfortunately, the untreated abuse of opiate-based drugs will lead to the beginning of a cycle of addition that will end in the use of heroin. As we all know, heroin overdose deaths are at record numbers in the Birmingham area.”
The DEA’s ninth nationwide take-back event will give the public an opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous drugs until more permanent drop-off sites are established after the agency’s new regulation takes effect Oct. 9. The DEA currently has no plans to sponsor more nationwide Take-Back Days after Sept. 27, as authorized collectors, such as pharmacies, hospitals and clinics, begin offering the drop-off service.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.
