As a full-time partner with the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the City of Sevierville Police Department (SPD) will participate in a National DEA Drug Take Back Event on Saturday, April 29, 2017 from 8:00AM-1:00PM at the Sevierville Municipal Complex, 120 Gary Wade Blvd. The drug take back will take place in conjunction with the Extreme Household Cleanup event. SPD Lieutenant Ken Garner, Office of Emergency Management Director, will be on duty to assist citizens who may have questions.

During past drug take back events, SPD officers have collected, on average, over forty-five pounds of drugs.  After collection, all drugs are destroyed by incinerator and any plastics received are recycled.

Many people are unaware that medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. According to the DEA, rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are increasing at alarming rates, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, many Americans do not know how to properly dispose of their unused medicine, often flushing them down the toilet or throwing them away-both potential safety and health hazards. Municipal water systems are not able to properly filter many medications, which sometimes leads to the presence of medications in tap water.  Traces of prescription medications have also been detected in streams and other ground water sources.