Arkansas Take Back Oct. 26

The Arkansas Drug Take Back, scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 26 this year, was developed in 2010 to help Arkansas families secure, monitor, and dispose of their unused prescription medications. Most young adults who abuse prescription drugs get those substances from friends’ and families’ homes (NCBI, 2019).
Recent data shows that overdose deaths in children under the age of 12 have been increasing along with the opioid crisis. When medications are left uncovered, children risk accidentally ingesting opioids left around the house.
By keeping unused or old prescriptions in your medicine cabinet, you could put your loved ones at risk. Before you flush your old drugs down the drain, however, know that those medications will likely end up in your drinking water. Prescription drugs can’t be flushed or discarded into the trash. If thrown away whole, those drugs may be taken out of the garbage.

Sometimes, people disguise drugs by mixing them into kitty litter or coffee grounds. However, those drugs seep into the earth, again finding their way into our water supply.
To safely dispose of drugs, community members can drop old prescriptions into their local Drug Take Back Box. Newton County Law Enforcement Center in Jasper has a Take Back Box in its lobby. Let’s all do our part to keep our homes and communities safe.