The Cherokee Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad will have a "pill drop" event as part of the Night Out Against Crime next month.

Unused or expired prescriptions drugs that people may have in their home may be disposed of at the free event on Oct. 7 for no charge.

The Night Out Against Crime from 5 to 8 p.m. at the New Life Worship Center at 154 Lakeside Drive in Canton includes displays by local law enforcement and public safety agencies, family activities, entertainment and food.

Phil Price, commander of CMANS, said the agency is targeting prescription drugs, as abuse of them is a growing problem locally.

Illegitimate pain clinics, people who make and pass fraudulent prescriptions and people who steal prescriptions from homes all are contributing to the problem.

The pill drop, he said, will help with one of the sources of the drugs.

"We're concerned about these drugs, as they do fall into the wrong hands," he said.

In the last two years, according to the Georgia Drug and Narcotics Agency, drug overdoses involving prescription drugs have outpaced overdoses from illicit drugs in Georgia.

"Many times young people get access to these drugs when parents or grandparents have strong pain medication in the home that were left over after surgery or significant medical needs have passed," said Lt. Jay Baker, public information officer for the Cherokee Sheriff's Office, which is a member of CMANS.

Another concern, Baker said, is that when people flush drugs into the sewage system, the drinking water in a community can contain detectable levels of drugs.

The prescriptions should be left in their original containers, as it's illegal to carry them any other way. Agents will black out patient names and addresses to ensure confidentiality.

No personal information from the unused prescriptions or the people dropping them off will be collected or logged, Baker said.

For information, call CMANS at (770) 704-2350.