(Editorial - Graphic Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection)

When we purge our homes, items often go into a few piles: throw away, donate, recycle and keep. But what do we do with those items that don’t quite fit any category? When it comes to prescription drugs, Saturday’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day provides an opportunity.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday there is a “safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs,” according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, as well as education efforts at some sites about the potential for abuse of prescription medications kept in the home.

Locally, those sites include: Lubeck Volunteer Fire Department at 1340 Harris Highway, Parkersburg; West Virginia State Police Parkersburg Detachment at 3828 Staunton Turnpike, Parkersburg; Mineral Wells VFD at 1695 Elizabeth Pike, Mineral Wells; the Vienna VFD at 604 29th St., Vienna; Williamstown Police Department at 100 W. Fifth St., Williamstown; Waverly VFD at 15425 Emerson Ave., Waverly; the Walmart pharmacy entrance at 804 Pike St., Marietta; Ravenswood VFD at 333 Virginia St., Ravenswood; Wirt County Sheriff’s Office at 15 Court St., Elizabeth; and Phillips Pharmacy at 328 Second St., St. Marys.

Last October, law enforcement agencies at 4,340 sites across the country collected nearly 324 tons of prescription drugs.

Though not all prescription drugs present the potential for abuse, it is worth considering how many doses of medications that COULD be sought out for abuse were instead removed from homes and disposed of properly.

“Too often, unused prescription drugs find their way into the wrong hands. That’s dangerous and often tragic,” the DEA notes.

Rather than run the risk, take advantage of Saturday’s Drug Take Back Day and know you’re not only cleaning out your cabinets, you may be keeping yourself and your loved ones a little safer.