Sheriff’s Office accepts prescription meds

VW independent/submitted information

Van Wert County Sheriff Thomas M. Riggenbach announced his office will again participate in the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, scheduled for Saturday, October 22.

The local effort is being held in conjunction with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency to give county residents another opportunity to rid their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs, while also helping prevent pill abuse and theft.

Local residents can bring their pills to the Van Wert County Sheriff’s Office, 113 N. Market St., all day on October 22. The initiative is a free service and residents can remain anonymous when dropping off medications … no questions asked.

Sheriff Riggenbach reminds residents the Sheriff’s Office will no longer be able to accept liquid medications, new or used needles or syringes, or other non-pill forms of medication.

The sheriff is also asking local residents to remove pill medications from the bottles or blister packs and put them in a bag or box before bringing the pills to the Sheriff’s Office. Residents should then remove all labels containing identifying information from the bottles and blister packs before throwing the empty bottles and blister packs in the trash, and blot out all personal information on the labels before throwing the labels in the trash.

Sheriff Riggenbach also stated that his office will accept pill form medications from local individuals only, not from businesses.

The sheriff said 183 pounds of prescription drugs were turned into his office in April, with a total of 804 pounds of prescription drugs turned in locally since the beginning of the program.

Sheriff Riggenbach said the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is an initiative that addresses a vital public safety and public health issue, adding that unused medicines that remain in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse.

Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.

Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods of disposing of unused medicines — flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash — pose potential safety and health hazards.

The sheriff also noted that, as part of this initiative, his office will continue to accept prescription medications from residents throughout the year.