Tomorrow is the United States Drug Enforcement Agency’s National Drug Take Back Day.

The program is a national effort to properly dispose of expired or unused prescription and over-the-counter medications to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands.

“In the past, if someone had a bottle of expired antibiotics, you know maybe it just went down the toilet and into our sewage system. Or you know, the opioid crisis is big in the news, people unfortunately can divert or take medication from someone they know and abuse it themselves,” said Derrick Botkins, director of pharmacy services at LewisGale Hospital.

Last year, LewisGale Medical collected over five hundred kilograms of medication at its six collection sites. Over sixteen thousand pounds was raised across the community.

There are collection sites in the New River Valley, Roanoke Valley, Southside, Lynchburg area and Highlands.