LIMA, OH (WLIO) - When you hear overdose, you might think about drugs like fentanyl or heroin. But what about the ones in your own medicine cabinet? On Saturday, local and state officials teamed up to get dangerous pills out of Allen County homes.
Allen County was selected for the Ohio Attorney General's Office's first Drug Dropoff Day of the year because of the area's high rate of overdoses compared to other counties. Getting unused prescription drugs out of homes removes that temptation for visitors and family members to abuse them, and can save the lives of children who might not know what they're taking.
"The biggest negative that we can find is unattended, very young youth getting into the medicine cabinets and having exposure to these drugs. And it could be lethal, fatal at times and we've seen that and we don't want that," said Allen County Sheriff Matt Treglia. "This is another reason for partnering with the attorney general and getting these medications out of your cabinets, into our hands, and disposed of properly."
The sheriff's office and EMA helped collect all sorts of dangerous items. Opiates are a hot topic right now, but it's also important to get rid of others like stimulants and used needles. Experts recommend that you do not dispose of any prescription medications or sharp objects yourself.
"If you flush them in the toilet or you put them in coffee grounds or kitty litter, those drugs are still accessible, and they end up in the water, in the water stream, they can end up in the drinking water," explained John Sprague, the Director of Science and Research for the Ohio Attorney General's Office.
Officials also used the takeback as an opportunity to share information about other important safety topics like how to properly store the medications that you do need.
"The best thing to do is make sure you keep them high, out of reach, if you can use a lockbox that's a great way to do it. Make it so that they're not in obvious places, for example, it's obvious to look in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom," Sprague added.
Despite the cold and snow, Allen County broke the record for the most collected since the AG office Drug Dropoff Day initiative began in July of 2021. 177 cars turned in 601 pounds of medication.
