Drug collection bin returns to Jackson PD

The Jackson Police Department has announced the return of its prescription drug collection bin.

Canceled Drug Enforcement Agency programs caused multiple police departments to do away with collection bins earlier this year.

The bin is in the front lobby of the department and is available 24/7, no questions asked.

Inhalers, aerosol cans, liquids and needles will not be accepted.

Cpl. Rick Whitaker said the DEA is again funding the drug takeback program, which allows the department to offer the bin. It's a popular program that had people calling their congress representatives to ask for its return, Whitaker learned in discussions with regional DEA officials.

A Southeast Missourian story from February reported Jackson Police Department's bin kept 400 pounds of pills per year out of the wrong hands and away from the water supply.

Whitaker said a one-day drug takeback event Sept. 26 collected 320 pounds of prescription drugs. The department is pleased it will be able to offer the collection bin again and he expects it will continue to see plenty of use.

"People use it all the time," he said. "They don't want to put [prescription drugs] in the water or out in the trash and in the landfills."

Pertinent address:

525 S. Hope St., Jackson, Mo.