The Geauga County Sheriff’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration is offering residents an opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs.
On Oct. 28, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., residents can bring their unwanted medications for disposal to the sheriff’s office at 12450 Merritt Road in Munson Township.
The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
“This is an excellent opportunity for Geauga County Residents to safely dispose of these unwanted items,” Geauga County Sheriff Scott Hildenbrand said.
Prescription drug overdose is a serious public health crisis in Ohio. Since 2002, prescription medications, such as opioid pain relievers and benzodiazepines, have contributed to the deaths of more than 9,000 Ohioans, Hildenbrand said.
“Left over medication presents a serous diversion risk that can ultimately lead to addiction particularly among young Ohioans,” he added, noting a recent survey by the Ohio Department of Health found that more than one in five Ohio high school students reported using a prescription drug without a doctor’s prescription one or more time during their life.
During the Oct. 28 collection, the sheriff’s office, working in conjunction with the University Hospitals Geauga Medical Center’s Environmental Services, will have a biohazard container available for the safe disposal of unwanted needles and syringes, liquids and aerosols.
The ability to safely dispose of these unwanted items only happens twice a year, Hildenbrand said.
However, disposal boxes in the lobby of the sheriff’s office are available any other time to service county residents in the disposal of unwanted medication.
