Jefferson County entities to participate in drug take-back event

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey’s office will partner with the Jefferson County (W.Va.) Health Department, Shepherdstown Police Department and Trinity Episcopal Church as part of this weekend’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.

A representative from the attorney general’s office will assist in staffing a take-back site Saturday at Shepherdstown Town Hall at 104 S. King St.

The attorney general’s office has participated in the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration initiative since 2013.

The DEA spearheads the event, which initially was launched in 2010. During the event, local and state law-enforcement agencies collect unused medications and responsibly dispose of them.

The DEA typically hosts two prescription drug take-back days per year, with one in the spring and the other in the fall.

Prescription-drug incinerators in West Virginia are in Boone, Cabell, Monongalia and Wood counties. They are shared among the state’s law-enforcement agencies.

The incinerators were awarded through the Dispose Responsibly of Prescriptions (DRoP) initiative, which also distributed drug-disposal drop boxes throughout the state.

One of the DRoP boxes is at the Shepherdstown Police Department, with others in Boone, Jackson, Nicholas, Pleasants, Roane and Wayne counties.