Pam Dudding-Burch
Contributing writer
Protection and safety comes in many variations. Ridding your cabinets of unused prescription drugs has proven to be a common marker for many.
On Saturday, April 28, the Craig County Sheriff’s Office participated in the National Drug ‘Take back’ Day with their Drug Enforcement Agency Program (DEA).
The Sheriff’s Office, the Craig Prevention Planning Team (CPPT) and the Roanoke Area Youth Substance Abuse Coalition (RAYSAC) hosted an Rx (prescription drug) ‘Take Back’ imitative at Market Street Pharmacy in New Castle.
“This event allows people to turn in unused and old medication for disposal,” Sheriff Trevor Craddock shared. “The Rx Take Back is a very important event and helps make a big difference in Craig County,” J.D. Carlin added. Carlin is one of the members of the CPPT.
Craddock was assisted by two Craig County sophomores, Jenna Bostic and Tori Blevins, who were both excited about the chance to help with safe Rx drug disposal for the people of Craig County.
Carlin shared that as a part of this program, various medicines and other drugs are removed in a safe way from the community. “These are drugs that may otherwise be abused or taken incorrectly by youth and/or others,” he said. “This program, through the Sheriff’s Department, also makes sure that the drugs collected are properly disposed of.”
“They know that making sure these drugs are out of the community lowers access and could, in fact, be lifesaving,” Carlin shared as he had invited them to assist. “It is good to see young people get involved in our community, especially an event such as this.”
“By collecting these, we make sure these drugs are not simply flushed down the toilet as many people think is the right thing to do, but in fact puts the drugs into the water system,” Carlin said. “In short, collecting these drugs makes the Craig County community safer.”
If you have any questions about prescription drug disposal, contact the Sheriff’s office at P.O. Box 266, 182 Main Street, Suite 1, New Castle, VA 24127, call (540) 864-5127 or email; craigsheriff@tds.net.
“The Craig County Sheriff’s Office collected 32.1 pounds of old and unused medication,” Craddock said before adding, “We wish to thank Food Country, and Market Street pharmacy for allowing them to set up and use their facility, as well as Tori and Jenna for assisting. All information is kept confidential.”
