Drug take back day held across the North Alabama
NORTH ALABAMA (WHNT) — The opioid epidemic continues to grip the nation, but two annual events are working to change that. On Saturday, law enforcement agencies across the Tennessee Valley participated in the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) National Drug Take Back Day.
Narcotic divisions with Madison and Jackson County Sheriff’s Offices have taken part in the DEA’s tack-back day for several years. It’s about collecting unwanted, unused, and expired medication to prevent medication misusage and addictions.
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Jackson County Sheriff Rocky Harnen says this nationwide effort helps combat the opioid epidemic.
“There are a lot of illegal drugs out there and narcotics that get in the wrong hands of people using them for nefarious reasons,” Sheriff Harnen explained. “We try to get them off the street and make them unavailable for people wanting to do bad things with them.”
Sheriff Harnen says they’ve seen increases in overdose calls weekly and he explained how fentanyl has played a deadly role in making that a reality.
“Most of the drugs that we’re running into now that are bought on the street the meth, marijuana even some of the pills that are supposed to be other things have got fentanyl in them,” Sheriff Harnen said. “We hope that by getting rid of some of these drugs that people aren’t using we can at least help take care of that problem.”
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Community members in Jackson County like Amanda Harris say they feel compelled to be part of the efforts each year. She says it also helps prevent the impact drugs have on the youth.
“It’s important so that we can keep our children safe,” Harris told News 19. “There’s a lot of children that have accidental overdoses by getting into medication so locking up your medication is important and then disposing of them.”
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office says they average over 100 pounds of collected drugs between the two take-back days yearly. It is about promoting safer communities while providing a safe and responsible means of disposing of prescriptions and educating the public about the potential for the abuse of medications.
“By removing them you remove the risk and by spreading awareness you let it be known that those dangers are out there that maybe people don’t think about,” Harris said. “We all should be a part of the drug takeback.”
Between both the Jackson and Madison County Sheriff’s Offices, nearly 500 pounds of unused and unwanted drugs were collected Saturday.
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