East Texas police departments host Drug Take Back events

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - Police departments across the country and here in East Texas participated in National Drug Take Back Day on Saturday. Unused prescription medications were collected by police from community members. Items will be handed over to the DEA for incineration.

“It’s good to get them off the streets. You get them out of the homes, where a lot of our kids or criminals will steal them and sell it on the streets,” said Scott Behrend, an officer with the Tyler Police Community Response Unit.

The event is also about proper disposal of drugs, in addition to getting them out of circulation. While it’s usually ok to just throw out unused medications, Behrend emphasized to not flush medications.

“The main point is we don’t want people flushing them because those chemicals can end up in the water, you know, with the filtration and the supply,” said Behrend.

Other East Texas police departments that participated included Kilgore, Marshall, Palestine and more. If you missed Saturday’s events, you can drop off unused medications at the Smith County Sheriff’s Office dropbox anytime.

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