The DEA said over the last three years over 1,000-tons of prescription drugs have been handed-over to police departments through a national initiative to reduce the amount of substance abuse in the country.
As part of the National Take-Back Initiative, the Aledo Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Agency accepted unused and old prescription drugs on Saturday, April 27; no questions asked, according to the police department.
According to a spokesperson from the Aledo Police, locally and around the country police departments are seeing an increase in prescription drug abuse. The department said on take-back day, the public can surrender expired, unwanted, or unused prescriptions to law enforcement to be destroyed.
The DEA said that Saturday was the sixth National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day since 2010.
“Everything we do is geared toward protecting American families and communities,” said DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart. “We know that young people consider controlled-substance prescription drugs, like Vicodin, to be a safer way to get high, but they couldn’t be more wrong.”
The Aledo Police Department said every day on average, 2,500 teens use prescription drugs to get high for the first time. The DEA Administrator said that removing prescriptions from the home helps prevent experimentation, addiction and overdose.