D.E.A. sponsors Drug Take Back Day

For agencies around the Coast, Saturday marked Drug Take Back Day.

The D.E.A. and other law enforcement encourage citizens to clear their cabinets of old prescriptions.

Twice a year, you can hand over your old medicines to a local police department so they can be safely disposed.

Gulfport PD Sgt. Jason Ducre says the event greatly reduces the risk of drugs falling into the wrong hands.

That includes the hands of children and these drugs can often make their way onto the street for illicit sale. “We don’t want drugs to get in the wrong hands obviously. We dispose of them in a safe manner. So, bringing them here, we know they’re getting disposed of properly, and we know they’re not getting out into the community and in the wrong hands. If not disposed of properly, they could end up in anyone’s wrong hands — and that’s what we’re trying to prevent.”

The D.E.A. sponsored event has been running for more then ten years now.