Sheriff’s Office announces Prescription Drug Take Back date

Photo by Ellis County Sheriff's Office

ELLIS COUNTY — The Ellis County Sheriff's Office is coordinating a Prescription Drug Take Back collection from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 25, 2015.Assisting with the effort are Impact Waxahachie, Impact Ennis and Drug Prevention Resources Inc.

"It's time to clean out your medicine cabinets of any unused and expired prescription and over-the-counter medications," Deputy Ken Hatcher said.

The collection will occur at three locations:

• 1000 N. U.S. Highway 77 (Waxahachie High School parking lot) in Waxahachie

• 700 E. Ennis Ave. (Walmart parking lot) in Ennis

• 423 E. Main St. (Tim Tobey/State Farm parking lot) in Midlothian.

The collection is free to the public and provides a safe way to dispose of prescription drugs and other medicines. The collection cannot accept syringes, sharps and inhalers.

By participating in the Prescription Drug Take Back collection, the public is helping to prevent crimes such as break-ins and teens taking unused pills and selling them. It also helps prevent contamination of the water system, which occurs when people flush medications down a toilet. There are no questions asked of participants in the collection.

This is the sixth year for the Sheriff's Office to participate in the collection program. Deputies will transport all drugs collected at the three turn-in sites to the DEA for incineration.

In 2014, more than 1,000 pounds of unused and expired prescription and over-the-counter drugs were collected as a result of this initiative in Ellis County.