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VALLEY — Saturday was National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, and the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office, the Chambers County Drug Task Force and East Alabama Mental Health joined forces to have a take back site in the parking lot in front of Valley Community Center.

The purpose of National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is to provide a safe, convenient and responsible means of disposing of unused prescription drugs while also educating the general public about the potential of abuse of medications.

This program is administered through the federal Drug Enforcement Administration’s Diversion Control Division. Local law enforcement and mental health organizations participate in this ongoing effort as well.

While National Take Back Day gives people a convenient way to dispose of prescription drugs they no longer need, local law enforcement agencies will take these drugs on an everyday basis. There are drop boxes in the police departments in Lanett and Valley as well as the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office where these unneeded medications can be left. They will then be properly disposed of.

For those who are homebound, an officer from the Drug Task Force will come by your home to pick up your unneeded medication for you and see that it is properly disposed of. Call (334) 756-0572 for assistance.

A tent was set up in the Community Center parking lot where people could drop off their unneeded medications. Local law enforcement officers were there to cook hamburgers to treat those who brought prescription drugs on Take Back Day. Prevention Coordinator Emi Ajero-Brooks and prevention specialists Jessica Baldwin and Ashley Williams from the East Alabama Mental Health Center, Opelika, were there to talk to people about any problems they were having and to seek their advice on whether or not they should be giving up some expired medications they had brought with them.

Officers present on Drug Take Back Day were Major T.J. Wood of the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office, agents Steve Smith and Lawrence Howell of the Chambers County Drug Task Force, Corporal Roger Brown and Officer Brandon Barronton of the Valley Police Department.

According to the DEA, a drug overdose epidemic is a clear and present public health, public safety and national security threat. National Prescription Drug Take Back Days reflect DEA’s commitment to the safety and health of the American people, encouraging them to remove unneeded medications from their homes as a means of preventing medication misuse and opioid addiction from ever starting.