Tennessee police warn flushing drugs could create ‘meth-gators’

A Tennessee police department is cautioning locals not to flush drugs and prescription pills down the toilet or drains out of concern that the practice could lead to “meth-gators.”

The warning comes after police found a man unsuccessfully attempting to flush meth, as well as drug paraphernalia, down the toilet, WBTV reported Monday. The man was arrested for drug possession for resale, drug paraphernalia possession and tampering with evidence, police said.

“Ducks, Geese, and other fowl frequent our treatment ponds and we shudder to think what one all hyped up on meth would do,” the Loretto Police Department wrote on Facebook Saturday in its warning.{mosads}

“They’ve had enough methed up animals the past few weeks without our help,” the statement continued. “So, if you need to dispose of your drugs just give us a call and we will make sure they are disposed of in the proper way.”

Though police said they seized the man’s reported drugs, authorities cautioned that any kind of medication or drug being disposed of in drains can have a negative impact on local wildlife.

“When you send something down the sewer pipe it ends up in our retention ponds for processing before it is sent down stream,” the statement said. “Now our sewer guys take great pride in releasing water that is cleaner than what is in the creek, but they are not really prepared for meth.”

If it made it far enough, police said, the drugs could create “meth-gators” in Shoal Creek and the Tennessee River in north Alabama.

Instead of flushing drugs, police advised residents to ask the department for help or to dispose of any medications at City Hall in a designated container.