Tomorrow is designated as National Drug Take Back Day, where people can drop off unused or expired prescription drugs to law enforcement with no questions asked.

The Perry Police Department is participating once again in the federal Drug Enforcement Agency initiative at the police department tomorrow from 10am-2pm. The department does this twice a year as a way to keep medications out of the hands of those who aren’t supposed to have them, along with keeping them out of the landfills and in the water supply that could contaminate it. 

While the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office doesn’t directly participate in National Drug Take Back Day, they will accept the same items throughout the year. Sheriff Adam Infante says they have a drop box located in the front office that can be utilized by the public 24 hours a day. He points out the county has a major issue with people committing crimes of unlawful possession of prescription drugs.

“In fact I would argue that it’s more than ever. With the increase use of opioids, the heroin, the fentanyl, and that sort of thing, a lot of people are resorting to pills when they can’t get access to those, or the pill is a gateway drug to those. We’re seeing more and more people with possession of unprescribed pills than we’ve ever seen really in the past. It’s the new thing right now.”   

Items that neither the Perry Police Department nor the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office will accept are needles and the police department additionally won’t accept inhalers.