WCPC Sponsoring Drug Take Back Day Event

WEAKLEY COUNTY (April 20) - It's time to clean out those medicine cabinets. Weakley County Prevention Coalition is hosting Drug Take Back Day locations across Weakley County on Saturday, April 24 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. This is a safe and easy way to dispose of unused/unwanted medications.

As an added incentive, the WCPC is offering giveaways at each of the four drop-off locations this Saturday. Community members are encouraged to bring their expired, unwanted prescription medications to one of the following:

Martin: Rural King – free smoked macaroni and cheese courtesy of Rolling Smoke BBQ & Catering;

Gleason: Dollar General - a chance to win a $50 gift card from Dollar General;

Dresden: Bob's Pharmacy - a chance to win one of two free oil changes, courtesy of Dresden 4x4 and

Greenfield: Casey's convenience store - enter for a chance to win a $25 gift card to Tate's Family Foods with the drop off of prescription medications.

Free lock boxes will be available to take home, along with other resources and giveaways at each location on Saturday. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked. Sites cannot accept liquids, needles or sharps – only pills or patches.

This year’s Take Back Day is important because the April 2020 Take Back Day was canceled due to the pandemic, and the amount of medication collected in Tennessee during the October 2020 Take Back Day was about one-third the amount collected in October 2019. Substance Abuse Prevention Coalitions and other community groups team up with their local law enforcement to host the events. According to national research, about two-thirds of people who misuse or abuse prescription medications obtain them from family or friends.

The event this month is the DEA’s 20th nationwide Take Back Day since its inception over 10 years ago. Last fall, Americans turned in nearly 493 tons (985,392 pounds) of prescription drugs at over 4,500 sites operated by the DEA and over 4,100 of its state and local law enforcement partners. Those partnerships have now collected nearly 6,850 tons of prescription medications since the inception of the initiative in 2010.