CityofBrownwoodlogo_smallThe City of Brownwood Police Department and the City’s Industrial Pretreatment Department are joining forces to help keep illegal drugs off the streets of Brownwood and out of the City’s Wastewater Treatment Plant.

This effort is a part of the second National Prescription Drug Take Back Day which will take place this Saturday, April30th from 10:00am-2:00pm.

Two Locations to drop and drive away–NO QUESTIONS ASKED

  • Wal-Mart:  Under the Trees behind Long John Silver’s
  • BISD Central Office Building at 4th and Magnolia

Brownwood Police officers will be present not to intimidate anyone but to protect the integrity of the program according to Brownwood Chief of Police Mike Corley.   They will be providing security only.

“I want to get the bad narcotics that could be easily sold off the streets, such as painkillers and anti-depressants,” stated Corley.  “There’s a lot bigger prescription drug market here in Brown County than most people are aware of.”

WHAT CAN I BRING?

Please leave all items in their original containers and black out all personal information.  The following medications will be accepted.

  • Prescription Medications (Pills, liquid, creams, &patches)
  • Non-prescription Medications (Pills, liquid, creams & patches)
  • Pet Medications (Pills, liquid, creams & patches)
  • Vitamin & Herbal Supplements (Pills, liquid, creams & patches)
  • All types of Inhalers

PLEASE DO NOT BRING THESE ITEMS:

Please check with your health-care provider for proper disposal procedures for the following items that will not be accepted:

  • NO Sharps
  • NO Syringes
  • NO Oxygen Tanks
  • NO Pen Needles
  • NO Lancets

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue.  More than seven million Americans currently abuse prescription drugs, according to the 2009 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health.  Each day, approximately, 2,500 teens use prescription drugs to get high for the first time according to the Partnership for a Drug Free America.  Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including the home medicine cabinet.

The purpose of this National Take Back Day is to provide a venue for persons who want to dispose of unwanted and unused prescription drugs.  This effort was a huge success at the first event, September 25, 2010, removing potentially dangerous prescription drugs, particularly controlled substances, from our nation’s medicine cabinets.  There were more than 121 tons of pills on this first National Take Back Day.

Once collected, the drugs collected locally will be taken by Brownwood Police Department to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to be destroyed.