If you have some old prescription drugs that you would like to dispose of, especially those that contain narcotics, you can do so Saturday at the annual Drug Take Back event sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Brownsville Police Department and Valley Regional Medical Center.
The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the parking lot of VRMC at 100 E. Alton Gloor Blvd.
The Drug Take Back event is held in order to keep those narcotics that you no longer use from making their way on to city streets to be sold, said Investigator Martin Sandoval, spokesman for Brownsville PD.
“What happens is you take in there, toss it in the box and the DEA will then pick it up and dispose of it correctly. The goal is not to let these drugs hit the street. A lot of people do have those drugs in their house because they need them. And then all of a sudden, they get well, and they don’t need them anymore. And sometimes they stay there,” Sandoval said. “Sometimes, kids get to them and start distributing them around the schools, the neighborhood, etcetera.”
If you have prescription drugs that don’t contain narcotics, you can also drop them off at the site to get disposed of correctly, Sandoval said.
Other Take Back locations in Cameron County will be in Harlingen at the Sam’s Club at 621 N. Expressway 77 and the Walgreens at 1406 E. Harrison St.
In April 2022, nationwide there were 360 tons of drugs that were dropped off at 5,144 Take Back sites.
“The drug overdose epidemic in the United States is a clear and present public health, public safety, and national security threat. DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day reflects DEA’s commitment to Americans’ safety and health, encouraging the public to remove unneeded medications from their homes as a measure of preventing medication misuse and opioid addiction from ever starting,” the DEA stated on its Drug Take Back website.
Sandoval said if you cannot make it out Saturday, Brownsville PD has a drop off box at its main station at 600 E. Jackson St.
The box is available 24/7 for anyone who wants to get rid of old prescription drugs.
