The Charleston County Sheriff's Office collected 132 pounds of unwanted prescription drugs two weekends ago during a Drug Enforcement Agency National Drug Take-Back Day.
Nationally, the Take-Back program took in 276 tons of unwanted drugs during recent take-back events, according to a DEA news release. To date, the program has taken in 774 tons of medication.
The April 28 event was held in North Charleston. Deputies collected the medications on a no-questions-asked basis.
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The effort is meant to take potentially harmful medications out of the home where youngsters could accidentally or intentionally ingest the drugs.
And since flushing the medications or discarding them into the landfill could introduce harmful chemicals to the water table, law enforcement no longer encourages medications be discarded in that manner.
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"Until new regulations are in place, local law enforcement agencies, such as the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office and the DEA, will continue to hold prescription drug take-back events every few months," wrote Major Jim Brady, sheriff's spokesman.
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