Saturday October 28 is National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. Jill Westmoreland Rose, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, says there are drop-off locations all over.
"And it's just a place where you can go and drop off your unwanted and unused leftover prescriptions because they're just too dangerous to leave around."
People can find a drop-off location near them here. The one-day event is from 10am to 2pm. Law enforcement is asking people to NOT drop off liquids or needles, just pills and patches. Rose urges people to take part, saying statistics show the majority of drugs young people are getting addicted to are coming from a friend or family members or stolen out of the medicine cabinet.
"You certainly wouldn't leave a bag of heroin and a needle laying out for your teenager, so don't leave these pills in your cabinet where they can get them."
The move comes as western North Carolina and the nation as a whole faces a growing opioid crisis. President Donald Trump declared opioids a public health emergency. Rose says DEA and local law enforcement agencies collected over 26,000 pounds of unwanted prescription drugs in North Carolina last April during a Take Back event. Rose says addicts who are worried about getting in trouble don't need to be concerned, as these are just drop-box locations.
