Law Enforcement Encourages Turning In Unused Prescription Drugs
Mahaska County Sheriff Russ Van Renterghem
Oskaloosa, Iowa – At Mahaska Drug this past Saturday, the Oskaloosa Police Department and the Mahaska County Sheriff’s Office held a drug take back day.
The hope is that individuals will turn in their unused prescription drugs in an effort to help curb the abuse of prescription drugs, and making the prescription owner safer.
In 2016, nearly 14 million people aged 12 or older abused prescription drugs, ranging from psychotherapeutic to pain relievers, and tranquilizers.
In America today, nearly 130 people die each and every day after overdosing on opioids. Those 130 deaths every day come from overdoses to prescription pain relievers, heroin, and synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
The death toll in 2017 alone was 47,000 Americans, while another 652,000 suffered from heroin use disorder.
Members of the public can be at risk, such as burglary if an addict learns that a person may have prescription drugs that contain opioids.
Inside Mahaska Drug, people handed over bottles of unused medications, not only to keep the drugs off the streets but to also have the medications disposed of properly to prevent contamination of the water supply.
Mahaska County Sheriff Russ Van Renterghem says that his office and the Oskaloosa Police Department partner with the Drug Enforcement Agency twice a year for the drug take-back program.
The medications that people turn in are boxed up and mailed to the DEA, where it’s incinerated. “Which is actually the safest method of getting rid of all the medications,” explained Van Renterghem.
There are many reasons to get rid of prescriptions when you no longer need them, even if they were expensive to begin with. Beyond the before-mentioned risk, the potency may decline, or an antibiotic for one ailment may not work on another ailment.
If you missed the event at Mahaska Drug, there is also a drug disposal box at the Mahaska County Law Center in the basement near the window for the Oskaloosa Police Department. “Just drop it off, no questions asked, and walk out,” Van Renterhem said.
One of the common questions asked is if illegal drugs are disposed of in the box. The simple answer is that none of those types of drugs have been dropped off at any of the collection points. “It’s all prescription or over the counter medication,” says Van Renterghem.
