Local area prescription Drug Take Back program

Published 1:54 pm Wednesday, May 17, 2023

On Saturday, April 22 the Lake Oconee Elks Lodge No. 2849, the Green County Sheriff’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration held their annual Prescription Drug Take Back Program in front of The Oconee Cellar at Lake Oconee Village. This was an opportunity for anyone to bring potentially dangerous, expired, unused and unwanted prescriptions and dispose of them in the designated receptacles. The service was free and confidential and many took advantage of the service. Sheriff Donnie Harrison stated that an agent from the Drug Enforcement Administration will then pick up the disposed drugs and take them to be destroyed. Twenty-five pounds 25 of prescription drugs were collected and disposed. This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to misuse and abuse. People are now advised that the usual methods of disposal — flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash — both pose potential safety and health hazards. Pictured from left: Greene County Sheriff Donnie Harrison, Stephen Paine with Lake Oconee Cellars, Dom Serra and Don Hill with the Lake Oconee Elks.