Kathy Sullivan shares the September RAYSAC Radar newsletter.

Got Drugs?

Turn in unused or expired medications for safe disposal on Saturday, Sept. 29 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the following locations:

• Roanoke Civic Center
• Salem at the Super Shoes on W. Main St.
• Botetourt County – at the Daleville Kroger
• Roanoke County – at the Tanglewood Kroger
• Roanoke County Public Safety Building on Cove Road
• Roanoke County Fire Station #1 – Hershberger Road
• Vinton-Hardy Road Kroger

No appointment is necessary – the public is welcome. Simply bring your medications to this event where they can be safely collected and destroyed by local law enforcement and DEA agents.

Prescription drug and medication abuse is a significant public health issue. They are easily accessible and often kept in the medicine cabinet long after they are needed, making them readily available to people who might misuse or abuse them. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention 2011 National Youth Behavior Survey, 15.6% of high school youth surveyed in Virginia said they had taken prescription drugs one or more times without a doctor’s prescription (during their life). Medications should always be made hard to find or kept in a locked cabinet. One way to reduce accessibility is to properly dispose of them in a safe and environmentally friendly manner.

Participating in the DEA National Drug Take-Back event instead of leaving medications unsecured in your home or flushing them down the toilet will help prevent drug abuse and protect our valley’s waterways. Please collect your unused and expired medications and bring them to one of the following locations.

Every day 2,500 youth age 12 to 17 abuse a pain reliever for the very first time, and more teens abuse prescription drugs than any illicit drug except marijuana, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.