Residents who have unwanted, expired or leftover prescription pills have an opportunity to dispose of them properly this weekend.

Vicksburg Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration will hold a prescription take back event at 2 p.m. Saturday at Walgreens, 3341 Halls Ferry Road. Only pills and patches will be accepted. The DEA cannot accept liquids or needles.

“We just encourage the citizens of Vicksburg and Warren County to bring out any unused or expired drugs and give us an opportunity to expose of them in a safe manner. Many times drugs end up in the hands of a person they’re not prescribed for,” Vicksburg police Chief Walter Armstrong said.

Prescription drug abuse continues to be a major problem in Vicksburg and around the country, he said.

“Many times when criminals know that you have strong narcotics in your possession, they will target you for those drugs,” he said. “I think by having this type program around, it’s going to be less likely that people are going to be targeting anyone looking for prescription drugs.”

The event is the 10th held in Vicksburg and Warren County the past five years, DEA officials said.

“This has been very successful,” Armstrong said.

Vicksburg physician Dr. Daniel Edney, who is the president of the Mississippi State Medical Association, urged the public to take advantage of the event.

“Prescription drug abuse is a major problem in every part of the country, including Mississippi. The take-back initiative is a great opportunity for everyone to help reduce the threat by safely disposing unused and expired drugs,” Edney said.

This initiative sponsored nationally by the DEA helps keeps medicines from languishing in home cabinets and becoming “highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse,” Mississippi State Medical Association spokeswoman Kristen Lucas said.

“Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs,” Lucas said.

For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or about the event, visit www.dea.gov or call Vicksburg police at 601-636-2511.