Attorney General Curtis Hill announced today that his drug takeback initiative has helped collect 2,991 pounds of unused and unwanted medication thus far in 2018.
The initiative is likely to cross the 3,000-pound mark at the next takeback event — the Opioid Overdose Awareness Event, a collaboration with the Lebanon-based Youth Family Health Network. This event is planned for 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sept. 12 at the Boone County Fairgrounds in Lebanon.
So far, the largest amount collected at a single event in 2018 occurred on July 17 in Johnson County, where approximately 1,200 pounds of drugs were collected for proper disposal.
Keeping old medication puts families at risk, which is why it’s important to dispose of unused or leftover medication. Drug takeback events help Hoosiers properly dispose of prescriptions – preventing accidental poisoning, overdose, illegal use, identity theft and contamination of water resources.
“Abuse of prescription medicine is a big part of our overall drug crisis,†Attorney General Hill said. “Across the United States, more than 6 million people abuse controlled prescription drugs. Here in Indiana, nearly 1 in 20 Hoosiers report having used opioid pain relievers for non-medical uses, and a majority of abused medication comes from family and friends of users. We’re doing good work whenever we get these drugs out of people’s medicine cabinets and properly discarded.â€
