Residents clear out medicine cabinets for Drug Take Back Day

Marion Star

OhioHealth Outpatient Medical Campus hosted a National Prescription Drug Take Back Day event in Marion on Saturday.

Prescription Drug Take Back Day is held twice a year across the nation − in April and October. The objective is to accept any medication, not just dangerous drugs or narcotics.

David and Dixie Haines collected pills from family and friends and volunteered to take them to Prescription Drug Take Back Day in Marion on Saturday.
David and Dixie Haines collected pills from family and friends and volunteered to take them to Prescription Drug Take Back Day in Marion on Saturday.

Lt. Richard Wheeler with the Marion Police Department said many residents who have lost loved ones do not know what to do with leftover medications. Several people fell into this category and found it convenient to drop off the unused medications in a safe manner.

Brad DeCamp from the Crawford-Marion Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Board has been to 16 take-back events over the years. Saturday he welcomed four pharmacy students from Ohio Northern University who helped identify medications that were not in a bottle from the pharmacy or in an original container.

Prescription Drug Take Back allows residents to dispose of unused or unneeded medications safely and anonymously.
Prescription Drug Take Back allows residents to dispose of unused or unneeded medications safely and anonymously.

Dangerous drugs and narcotics were dropped off with no questions asked. Law enforcement representatives greeted the drive-thru participants. No questions were asked as to where the medications came from.

The mission was to collect as many drugs as possible to avoid an accidental ingestion or overdose, Wheeler said. In all, 168.8 pounds of prescription drugs were collected in Marion County.

OhioHealth Marion Medical Campus Outpatient Services was the collection site for Saturday's Prescription Drug Take Back Day lead by the Marion Police Department.
OhioHealth Marion Medical Campus Outpatient Services was the collection site for Saturday's Prescription Drug Take Back Day lead by the Marion Police Department.

The sponsors of the event were ADAMH, MARMET, DKMM, Marion County Recycling and Litter Prevention, OhioHealth and Aqua Ohio.

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Marion Police hold Prescription Drug Take Back at Ohio Health campus

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