County police collect over 400 pounds of prescription drugs

In the previous nine Take-Back events nationwide, starting in 2010, 4,823,251 pounds, or 2,411 tons of drugs were collected.

Each collection station was manned by a county officer and a DEA representative who also answered questions about prescription drug abuse, keeping drugs out of the wrong hands and the harm to the environment, our water system if drugs are flushed down the toilet.

The Drug Enforcement Unit plans to continue to give people a more environmentally responsible and secure way to dispose of medication. Pharmaceutical drugs can be just as unsafe as street drugs when taken without a prescription or a doctor’s supervision. Many Americans are not aware that medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Unused prescription drugs thrown into the trash can be retrieved and abused or illegally sold.

Monday, 28 September 2015 13:08 Mariposa County Sheriff’s Community Organized Policing Effort (SCOPE) Members (L-R) Ron Glenn, Dawn Carry, Janet Gale and Chancie McDonald were staffing the Prescription Drug Take Back Day location in Mariposa.

The Sheriff’s Office and most local Police Departments offer fixed drop-off sites that allow residents to destroy these medications year round.