ARE YOU CONTRIBUTING TO THE OPIOID CRISIS?

In February of this year, Chief Robert Burby and the
Texas City Police Department partnered with BACODA
to bring local experts together to discuss the
looming Opioid Crisis that threatens every part of our
community and our country. As a result of that educational
process, Texas City is acquiring a Drug Drop
Off Box which will be located at the Texas City Police
Department for the purpose of simplifying the drugs
that end up being kept in homes across our city.
Those drugs are a clear and present danger to us all
simply because they can an do get into the hands of
young people with no idea of the danger inherent in
swallowing a mixture of random pills for kicks.
So this Friday, at 10:00 am, there will be a ribbon
cutting to introduce the community to the Drop Off
Box and hopefully shine a light on the importance of
responsibly ridding the danger of prescription drugs
getting into the wrong hands. It takes a village to raise
a child and it takes a village to protect one too. We all
have a responsibility to become educated about the
dangers of prescription drug addiction and equally
as important to be aware of the possibility of unused
drugs, even those that might seem harmless to us,
getting into the hands of someone unaware of or
uncaring about the lethal possibilities of mixing one
“harmless” drug with another.
Too often, unused prescription drugs find their way
into the wrong hands. That’s dangerous and often
tragic. That’s why it was great to see thousands of
folks from across the country clean out their medicine
cabinets and turn in – safely and anonymously – a record
amount of prescription drugs.
The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day addresses
a crucial public safety and public health issue.
According to the 2015 National Survey on Drug
Use and Health, 6.4 million Americans abused controlled
prescription drugs. The study shows that a
majority of abused prescription drugs were obtained
from family and friends, often from the home medicine
cabinet. The DEA’s Take Back Day events provide
an opportunity for Americans to prevent drug addiction
and overdose deaths.
If you are interested in learning more about all the
many parts the Texas City Police Department plays
in educating and protecting our community, the Texas
City Police Department is currently taking applications
for the next Citizens Police Academy Course.
The course is a window into the operations of the
Texas City Police Department for citizens who are interested
in how their police department serves their
community. The course includes information on state
laws, local ordinances, police procedures, special
units, court systems and proceedings, and the cooperative
efforts with other city departments such
as Emergency Management and the Fire Department.
Other cooperating agencies are represented
by presentations from the Auto Crimes Task Force,
Joint Terrorism Task Force, Galveston County District
Attorney’s Office, and others when available. For
more information on the Explorer Program or CPA,
contact Cpl. Tim Herd, (409) 643-5722 ext. 2719.