The Orange County Sheriff’s Office and Carrboro Police Department are partnering with Safekids Orange County to hold a prescription drug take-back event this weekend.

On Saturday, local law enforcement officers will be set up in the parking of the North Greensboro Street Harris Teeter store in Carrboro from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. to host the drive-by drug drop-off. The event is part of a national Operation Medicine Drop initiative to give people a safe, secure way to dispose of unwanted, over-the counter and prescription medications.

According to the sheriff’s office, the event has a no-questions-asked policy and is free to any community member.

Local law enforcement officers pose for a photo at an Operation Medicine Drop event held in 2019. (Photo via the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.)

“Unfortunately, this kind of medicine is often stolen from our homes, or it is abused or sold by family members or visitors,” said Orange County Sheriff Blackwood in a release. “We are participating in this collection on Saturday to provide a convenient option for the community to make their homes safer.”

Research conducted by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration found 9.9 million Americans misused controlled prescription drugs in 2018. Most of the abused medications were obtained by family or friends, and found in a home medicine cabinet. In North Carolina, an average of four people die each day from overdose, with 79% of those deaths involving some type of opioid.

“During this time when children are learning at home and participating less in extra-curricular activities,” said Blackwood, “they are at greater risk of finding or experimenting with excess medications long forgotten by parents.”

Beyond Saturday’s Operation Medicine Drop event, both the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and Carrboro Police Department have a drug drop boxes in the lobbies of their stations, which are accessible to the public during weekly business hours.

Photo via the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

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