The DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) Takeback will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 28 at various locations across the country.
Here are the participating police departments in our coalition areas:
Tyler Police Department
Broadway Square Mall in Tyler
*Outside JCPenney
4601 S Broadway Ave
Tyler, TX 75703
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Daingerfield Police Department
Lot next to Dollar General in Daingerfield
305 E W M Watson Blvd
Daingerfield, TX 75638
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Henderson Police Department
Henderson Fire Station #2
612 US-79
Henderson, TX 75652
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Athens Police Department
Athens Partnership Building
201 W Corsicana St
Athens, TX 75751
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You may have heard the phrase “DEA Takeback,” but what is it?
It is a concerted effort by law enforcement to reduce the access people have to leftover prescription medications.
Sitting unused in your medicine cabinet is not a good look for prescriptions.
The event is organized by the federal agency every spring and fall. Local law enforcement agencies across the country agree to set up a location where residents can dispose of their leftover prescription drugs, no questions asked.
The DEA hopes that events like this will make it less likely leftover prescriptions can be abused. In fact, the majority of teens who abuse prescription drugs say they get them from friends or family, sometimes without their knowledge.
Prescription drugs are dangerous when they aren’t prescribed to you or when you take them in a way other than the way they are prescribed.
“Taking someone else’s prescription, like Adderall, can cause irregular heart beat and seizures; and abusing pain medicine like Vicodin can restrict breathing. Prescription pain relievers, stimulants, and antidepressants can all have serious side effects if abused—that is, taken in ways or for a reason or by a person not intended by the prescription,” according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Opioids, a category of strong prescription drugs, are particularly dangerous. These drugs are responsible for the majority of overdose deaths, which is now the largest cause of accidental death in the United States.
“In 2016, the number of overdose deaths involving opioids (including prescription opioids and heroin) was 5 times higher than in 1999. From 2000 to 2016, more than 600,000 people died from drug overdoses. On average, 115 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose. We now know that overdoses from prescription opioids are a driving factor in the 16-year increase in opioid overdose deaths. The amount of prescription opioids sold to pharmacies, hospitals, and doctors’ offices nearly quadrupled from 1999 to 2010, yet there had not been an overall change in the amount of pain that Americans reported. Deaths from prescription opioids—drugs like oxycodone, hydrocodone, and methadone—have more than quadrupled since 1999.”
This is why it’s so important for you to dispose of your leftover prescriptions at the DEA Takeback event. Many people understand how dangerous leftover prescription drugs can be; whenever we participate in these events, we always have residents who say thank you and want to know when the next event will be.
If you aren’t able to make it to the DEA Takeback, here are permanent drop boxes in the area you can access anytime:
Smith County Sheriff’s Office
227 N Spring Avenue
Tyler TX 75702
Available M-F, 8-5pm
Smith County Emergency Operations Center
11325 Spur 248
Tyler TX 75707
Available 24 hrs
Brick street Pharmacy
314 W Rusk St
Tyler, TX 75701
(903) 533-8155
Available during Pharmacy Hours
Eagle Pharmacy
1404 S. Main St
Lindale, TX 75771
903-881-5752
Available during Pharmacy Hours
Copeland’s Chandler Drug LLC
201 State Hwy 31 W
Chandler TX 75758
903-849-6443
Available during Pharmacy Hours
Walgreens Pharmacy – Store #07611
511 E. Marshall Ave.
Longview, 75601
903-234-9509
Kilgore Police Department
909 N Kilgore St
Kilgore, TX 75662
(903) 983-1559
Longview Police Department
302 W Cotton St
Longview, TX 75601
(903) 237-1199
White Oak Police Department
103 E Old Hwy 80
White Oak, TX 75693
(903) 759-0106
Rusk County Sheriff’s Office
210 W Charlevoix St
Henderson, TX 75652
Available 24 Hours
Hallsville Police Department
115 W Main St
Hallsville, TX 75650
Morris County Sheriffs Office
502 Union St
Daingerfield, TX 7563