Sheriff’s Office to participate in drug take back initiatives

ELLIS COUNTY — The Ellis County Sheriff’s Office is joining together again with local law enforcement agencies and other organizations Saturday, Sept. 26, for the semi-annual Operation Medicine Drop and Take It To THE BOX Prescription Drug Return initiatives.

Both programs assist community members by setting up drop-off locations where people can dispose of their unused or expired medications safely and anonymously. Utilizing these drop-off sites prevents the medications from getting into the hands of people they don’t belong to, particularly teens, and also helps protect the environment because the drugs aren’t being thrown away in the trash or flushed down a toilet into the water system. The drugs that are collected will be taken to the DEA for disposal.

A number of locations will be set up across Ellis County on Sept. 26 for the public’s convenience (please note that times vary by location):

• Waxahachie High School parking lot, 1000 N. U.S. Highway 77, Waxahachie – 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Ennis Walmart, 700 E. Ennis Ave., Ennis – 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Palmer Walmart, 428 N. Dallas St., Palmer – 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Italy Walmart, 721 Dale Evans Drive, Italy – 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Red Oak CVS, 105 Harris Ave., Red Oak – 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Ferris City Hall, 100 Town Plaza, Ferris – 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Midlothian CVS, 100 U.S. Highway 287 Business, Midlothian – 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Local law enforcement agencies involved with the Operation Medicine Drop and the Take It to THE BOX Prescription Drug Return initiatives include the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office, Ennis ISD Police Department, Ennis Police Department, Ferris Police Department, Italy Police Department, Midlothian Police Department, Palmer Police Department, Red Oak Police Department, Waxahachie Police Department, and Ellis County Constable Pct. 1. The organizations and businesses that are involved include Ellis County Drug-Free Coalition, Impact Communities, Reach Council Prevention Services, Waxahachie ISD, CVS Pharmacy and Walmart.

This is the sixth year for the Sheriff’s Office to participate in the collection initiative. During the April 2015 collection, 629 pounds of unused and expired prescription and over-the-counter drugs were collected in Ellis County as a result of the drug take back initiatives.