Residents bring outdated, unused prescription drugs to Sheriff’s Office Saturday

National Prescription Drug Takeback Day on Saturday, Oct. 27, was a good reminder for the residents of Henry and Washington counties to dispose of any extra prescription drugs left around the house.

In Henry County, both the Police Department and Henry County Sheriff's Office had officers on duty to accept prescription drugs, no questions asked. In Washington County, Jared Schneider, a deputy with the Washington Sheriff's Office, and Washington Police officer Ron See stood outside of United Presbyterian Church collecting unused prescription pills.

'A greater number of people are bringing their prescription pills in, where they didn't in the past,” said Mt. Pleasant police officer Dana Kuster. 'It's word-of-mouth and people being aware of the prescription medication problem we have.”

This is the 16th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day sponsored by the DEA, addressing a public safety and public health issue. 6.2 million Americans abused controlled prescription drugs in 2016, according to a national survey on drug use and health.

Opioid addiction can start with prescription painkillers, Henry County Sheriff Rich McNamee said. Disposing of unused prescription medication could maybe curb the epidemic, he added.

'We see a trend with young people raiding grandma's or mom's or dad's medicine cabinet and sharing prescription drugs,” McNamee said, adding that although these drugs are legal, it is illegal to use someone else's prescription drugs.

Not only that, but there are horrifying stories of children who get ahold of someone else's prescription without knowing what it is, McNamee said. 'It's important to get (narcotics) out of the hands of people who shouldn't be taking them,” he said.

While Henry County had a few dozen people stop by, the majority of their prescription pill collection happens daily. The Henry County Sheriff's office accepts unused prescription pills 24/7.

'We'll take them at 3 a.m. on a Tuesday,” McNamee said.

The Mt. Pleasant Police Department also accepts unused prescription pills daily.

Washington County also saw a steady amount of people drop off their prescription pills Saturday.

'The problem with spring and fall collection is that it opens up the possibility of (unused prescription pills) falling into the wrong hands,” said Washington County deputy Jared Schneider.

For that reason, the Washington County Sheriff's Office set up a 24/7 drop box a year ago for unused prescription pills.

Despite the daily drop box, Schneider said there was a comparable volume of people dropping pills off Saturday to other prescription drug drop off days.

The DEA does not accept liquids, sharps or inhalers.

Prescription drugs are sent by law enforcement agencies to the DEA in the spring and fall every year, where they are incinerated. The DEA discourages people from flushing their pills down the toilet or putting them down the garbage disposal as they can taint the water system.

Unused prescription pill collection has increased drastically over the past decade. Last year, 900,000 pounds of prescription pills were collected nationally compared to only 245,000 pounds in 2010. In Henry County, 86 pounds was collected a year ago, and Washington County sees about 80 pounds collected each spring and fall.