Staff Reports
A drug take-back event in Columbus July 12 produced a significant haul — about 400 pounds of expired, unused or otherwise unwanted prescription drugs turned in for disposal.
The take-back was a record for the Indiana Attorney General’s Office for a single event, bringing the state total collected this year to 1,463 pounds.
Columbus’ record-breaking event at Kroger Marketplace benefited from several car loads of items that were turned over by a physician’s office that wanted to dispose of medications in a safe way, Columbus police said.
That amount was significant — several hundred pounds, organizers said.
Keeping old medication puts families at risk, which is why it’s important to dispose of unused or leftover medication, according to the attorney general’s office.
Drug take-back events help Hoosiers properly dispose of prescriptions — preventing accidental poisoning, overdose, illegal use, identify theft from drug labels and contamination of water resources if drugs were disposed of improperly.
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In addition to the periodic drug take-back events sponsored by local and state officials, partners with the Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress in Bartholomew County have announced three locations where drugs may be dropped off in safe-container bins during business hours. Those locations include:
- Columbus Regional Hospital emergency department, 2400 17th St., Columbus
- Walgreens, 2400 Beam Road, Columbus
- CVS, 2423 N. National Road, Columbus
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