The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office and Peachtree City Police have partnered with the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and other government, community, public health and law enforcement partners to announce a nationwide prescription drug “Pill Drop” initiative on Oct. 29 that seeks to prevent increased pill abuse and theft.

The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office will be collecting potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs for destruction on Oct. 29 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. in a “drive-thru” setup at the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office parking lot located at 155 Johnson Avenue in Fayetteville.

Peachtree City Police will be collecting the same items the same day from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. in the parking lot of Shakerag Knoll and the Frederick Brown Amphitheater located on McIntosh Trail.

The service is free and anonymous; there are no questions asked or paperwork required. Participants in this initiative are simply asked to bring their unused or unwanted prescription drugs to this location where they can be destroyed.

Participants can drive through and not get out of their car. No needles or bio-hazardous materials will be accepted.

Many Americans are not aware that medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. 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.