Police, sheriffs collect dozens of pounds of unused prescriptions

Collecting unused prescription drugs not only keeps medicine from reaching the hands of people who don't need them, but also protects the local water supply.

On Saturday, sheriff's offices in Henry, Jefferson and Washington County participated in the Drug Enforcement Administration's national Drug Take Back Day.

In Washington County, Sheriff Jared Schneider helped collect the unused prescriptions at the United Presbyterian Church, alongside Washington Police Chief Jim Lester and Lt. Shamus Altenhofen, who leads the drugs and narcotics team at the police department.

Schneider said the department usually collects about 10 to 20 pounds of prescription drugs at each Take Back event. In addition to the drug take back days, the sheriff's office has a drop box where residents can drop off unused medication at any time. The sheriff asks residents to combine pills into a plastic bag to drop off rather than depositing bottles, which clutter the box.

Both Altenhofen and Lester said their department does occasionally see instances of prescription drug abuse, but focus remains on marijuana and methamphetamine, the two most abused drugs in the area.

'It might be easier for someone to hide a prescription addiction. If somebody's smoking marijuana, there's an odor. But if somebody's going to the hospital or pharmacy to get prescriptions, it can be easier to abuse,” Altenhofen said.

Similarly, the sheriff's office does not come across too many prescription drug abuse cases, Schneider said, but added the drug take back events and keeping drop boxes open for the public to hand off drugs also has an environmental impact.

'It's a way for people to dispose of these drugs properly. Otherwise they're flushing it down their toilets, and it enters the sewers, which then enters our drinking water,” Schneider said.

Henry County Sheriff Rich McNamee said the county as a whole collected close to 200 pounds of unused prescription drugs, more than the previous year's Drug Take Back event, which saw the county clear just over 100 pounds of drugs. In Henry County, residents could drop off pills at six locations across the county.

McNamee, who helped collect at one location, said he saw about half a dozen drop-offs, which resulted in about 10 to 15 pounds of drugs collected.

'I think the main reason this is important is to keep the drugs out of people's hands who don't need them. A lot of times, it could be youth raiding cabinets, or people trying to heist prescription meds for illegal use,” McNamee said.

The sheriff reminded residents that his office is open at any time to collect unused prescription drugs. McNamee added he is working on installing a drop box at his office as a drop off location.

Bart Richmond, chief sheriff's deputy in Jefferson County overseeing the Drug Take Back event, said the county collected approximately 20 to 25 pounds of prescription drugs on Saturday. Because the spring take back event was canceled, the office will be taking drugs it has collected throughout the year to the DEA alongside those collected during the event.

Richmond said the county handed off approximately 80 pounds of unused prescription drugs last year to the DEA, which helps the departments dispose of the drugs.

'We see a little bit of the prescription drug addicts. Sometimes it starts there and leads to some other stuff … we'll continue to work on other drug problems, but events like this help eliminate [the prescription drug] part of the problem,” Richmond said.