The Crawford County Sheriff’s Office participated in the National Drug Take Back Initiative this past weekend. In all, the Sheriff’s Office collected 102 pounds of unused / expired prescription medications.
Items collected were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Agency to be properly disposed of. The METRICH Drug Task Force coordinated the event, throughout the Metrich region.
Unused or expired prescription medications are a public safety issue, leading to accidental poisoning, overdose, and abuse. Pharmaceutical drugs can be just as dangerous as street drugs when taken without a prescription or a doctor’s supervision. The majority of teenagers abusing prescription drugs get them from family and friends, usually from a home medicine cabinet. Unused prescription drugs thrown into the trash can be retrieved and abused or illegally sold. Unused drugs that are flushed contaminate the water supply. Proper disposal of unused drugs saves lives and protects the environment.
Sheriff Scott Kent would like to thank those residents who participated in the program. The Sheriff’s Office has a drop box in the lobby of the Sheriff’s Office that is available year-round for residents wishing to dispose of unwanted prescription pills.