By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

The Shelby County Drug Enforcement Task Force will partner with the Pelham Police Department, the Shelby County Drug Free Coalition and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to sponsor five drug take-back locations on April 27.

During the take-back event, citizens will be able to drop off their unused, expired or unwanted prescription or over-the-counter medications. The drop-offs will be anonymous, and no questions will be asked.

The drive-through take-backs will be held from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Target store in Alabaster’s Colonial Promenade shopping center, the Greystone YMCA on U.S. 280, the Pelham Police Department at 32 Philip Davis St., the University of Montevallo Police Department at the UM Department of Public Safety Station 6155 and the Winn-Dixie supermarket at 2653 Valleydale Road.

During a recent Drug Free Coalition meeting, Shelby County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Keith Webb said getting rid of unused medication can help cut down on sources of potential drug abuse in homes – especially among teens.

“Prescription drug abuse in the U.S. is alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs,” read a Sheriff’s Office press release.

The take-back day has proven successful in the past, as Shelby County residents turned in about 482 pounds of unwanted medications last year, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The local total is part of more than 2 million pounds of medication collected nationwide during the five previous drug take-back days.