Kanawha Valley residents don't have to wait until a designated day to dispose of unwanted medications - the pills now are accepted daily at several police stations.
Prescription medications can be taken to the Kanawha County Sheriff's Office, Nitro Police Department, Charleston Police Department, Marmet Police Department, St. Albans Police Department, South Charleston Police Department or the Dunbar Police Department for proper disposal.
Chad Napier, who recently retired from the Charleston Police Department as the Bureau chief of Investigative Services, worked with the nonprofit Kanawha Communities That Care to get the drop-off boxes in some of the police departments.
"A lot of the time, national statistics show that that's where the controlled substances [that are used illegally] come from is out of people's cabinets," Napier said, adding that people often have medications left over from surgeries and illnesses that they keep in their medicine cabinets. It's important that the drugs are disposed of properly so they're not flushed and put into the drinking water supply.
The Metro Drug Unit has been helping collect the pills dropped off at police stations. Those pills will either be destroyed immediately or handed over at one of the Drug Enforcement Administration's National Prescription Drug Take-Back events, Napier said.
"But all of them are going to be destroyed in one facet or another," he said.
Some of the departments have had boxes in place for a while - the Kanawha Sheriff's Office purchased their own last year. The Charleston Police Department purchased theirs with a grant, said Kristi Justice, director of Kanawha Communities That Care.
That group recently purchased the boxes for Nitro, South Charleston, Dunbar and Marmet. It has also advertised the boxes and bought scales for the departments to weigh the drugs that come in, Justice said.
Kanawha Communities That Care has been around for about 10 years and received their nonprofit status in 2008. They are funded by a federal Drug-Free Communities grant. They also receive a grant from the Bureau of Substance Abuse.
The hours and locations of the drug take-back boxes are as follows:
Charleston Police Department, records division, 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.; Dunbar Police Department: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; Kanawha County Sheriff's Office 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday; Marmet Police Department 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday to Friday; Nitro Police Department 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday; South Charleston Police Department 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; and St. Albans Police Department 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Accepted items include prescription medicines including controlled substances, vitamins and supplements, over-the-counter medicines and pet medicines. Not accepted items include hydrogen peroxide, inhalers, aerosol cans, ointments, lotions, liquids, medication from businesses or clinics, thermometers and needles.
Reach Lori Kersey at Lori.Kersey@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1240 or follow @LoriKerseyWV on Twitter.