The Botetourt County Sheriff’s Office will be collecting expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs for destruction on Saturday, April 29, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Daleville Kroger store in Botetourt Commons.
The Botetourt Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement agencies in the area have partnered with the Roanoke Area Youth Substance Abuse Coalition (RAYSAC), the Western Virginia Water Authority and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and others to collect the unwanted prescription drugs at more than a dozen Roanoke Valley locations.
The public is invited to bring unused or unwanted medications (no needles) to this free and anonymous event that is part of the nationwide prescription drug “Take-Back” program that seeks to prevent prescription pill abuse, theft and environmental concerns.
This is the valley’s 11th such take-back event.
Other take-back locations include:
- Vinton Kroger parking lot on Hardy Road
- Tanglewood Kroger parking lot
- Brambleton (at Colonial Avenue) Kroger parking lot
- Kroger on Valley Gateway Boulevard
- Roanoke County Fire and Rescue Station No. 1 on Hershberger Road
- Salem Super Shoes on Main Street
- VA Medical Center, Building 143 in Salem
- Market Street Pharmacy in New Castle
- Virginia State Police Headquarters on Main Street, Salem.
According to RAYSAC, youth as young as 12 years old are trying or using prescription drugs non-medically to get high or for “self-medicating.”
In addition, flushing medications down the drain can result in trace amounts of pharmaceuticals showing up in the area’s waterways.
No appointment is necessary.