MONROE — Law enforcement, education, health-care and community agencies in Union County will join together on Saturday to host Operation Medicine Drop, a program designed to help keep unused medications out of the wrong hands.

The program will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at four locations across Union County. During that time, community members may take any old, unused or out-of-date prescription or over-the-counter medications to one of the following drop-off locations:

• Wal-Mart, 2406 W. Roosevelt Blvd., Monroe

• Wal-Mart Supercenter, 2101 Younts Road, Indian Trail

• Waxhaw Police Department, 703 W. South Main St., Suite E, Waxhaw

• Food Lion, 221 W. Highway 74, Wingate

Local law enforcement personnel will be on hand at each drop-off point to safely secure the medications and prepare for its proper disposal. Medication drop-offs will be accepted at these locations only during the set hours.

“Experts estimate that one in five teenagers have abused a prescription medication for the purpose of getting high or self medicating,” Sheriff Eddie Cathey said in a press release from Carolinas Medical Center-Union. “It has long been acknowledged that the home medicine cabinet is a ready source for drugs of abuse, even more so than street-level drug dealers.”

“The misuse of prescription drugs is a serious matter with potentially life threatening consequences,” Union County Public Schools Superintendent Ed Davis said in the release. “UCPS will take an aggressive approach to make sure that students are not misusing or distributing these drugs at school. In order to do this, we need the cooperation of students, teachers, parents and the law enforcement community. Operation Medicine Drop is an effort to better educate the public about this problem facing our students today.”

Operation Medicine Drop is sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Administration, N.C. State Bureau of Investigation, Union County Sheriff’s Office, Monroe Police Department, Union County Public Schools, Carolinas Medical Center-Union, Union County Safe Kids/Safe Communities, Southeast Pain Care-Union and Behavioral Health Center First Step in partnership with the Waxhaw Police Department, Wingate Police Department, Marshville Police Department, Stallings Police Department, Food Lion, Wal-Mart, United Way of the Central Carolinas (Latino Outreach Project), American Red Cross and the Union County Safe and Drug Free Community Partnership.

For more information about Operation Medicine Drop, call 704-283-3765.