200 Pounds of Medication Collected in Blair Co. on Drug Take-Back Day

Prescription medication in the wrong hands can be deadly. According to Safe Kids Worldwide, thousands of kids accidentally ingest prescription drugs every year. Medication is the leading cause of poisoning among children, leading to the death of one child every 12 days.

Statistics from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) show that nearly 60,000 kids under the age of 5 accidentally swallow dangerous prescription drugs they find in their home.

Failing to properly store medication is just one way they get in the wrong hands. Keeping medication in the house after it has expired or is no longer used increases the risk of it ending up in someone else's possession.

To help reduce the amount of unused and expired medications, the Drug Enforcement Agency conducts a "National Prescription Drug Take Back Day" across the country, with the latest being last Saturday, Oct. 26.

Locally, three drop-off sites were operating in cooperation with local law enforcement.

Freedom Township Police were stationed at the East Freedom WalMart, while the Martinsburg Police Department teamed up with James Drug Store in Martinsburg to collect unwanted medication.

At the Blair County Courthouse, Blair County Sheriff's Deputies were on hand to accept medication.

At East Freedom Walmart, Freedom Township Police Chief Terry Dellinger had a steady stream of people dropping off everything from one bottle, to bags full of medication to be disposed of.

"It is encouraging seeing people come out to get rid of their unwanted medicine," Dellinger said. "It is important that people not leave these things in their homes when they are no longer needed."

Dellinger said he was especially encouraged by people bringing in their unused opioids.

"With the problems we have with these things on the street, any amount we can get to before they end up where they don't belong is a plus."

Martinsburg Police Chief Kerry Hoover said getting unused medication out of your home deters not only accidental ingestion by kids, but also theft.

"Our older population is more vulnerable, and if the wrong person finds out they are keeping medication in their homes, they are going to come look for it," he said. "By getting rid of what you no longer need, it reduces the risk of getting robbed for pills."

Hoover said homes where kids live or visit should be extra vigilant about getting rid of unused medication.

"It just takes one person to see something in a medicine cabinet and it could end up where it doesn't belong," he said.

Blair County Sheriff James Ott said providing a safe place to drop off unused medication is a way to help the community while keeping drugs out of the wrong hands as well as reducing the risk of accidental overdose by those it was prescribed for.

"For the elderly who may take a lot of medicine, those medications can change," Ott said. "So if they have medicine they are no longer supposed to take still in the house, if they get confused and take it along with a new med, there is a potential for real harm there. By getting rid of the old stuff, the risk of accidentally taking it is gone."

Ott said with the growing addiction problem, visitors to a home who may have a problem will go through medicine cabinets looking for anything.

"Addiction is at a high level," Ott said. "People can have visitors who are dealing with addiction problems and not even know it. Unused medication is just creating an opportunity for them to get their hands on something. Properly disposing of unused or expired medication is important for not only keeping it from getting stolen, but also keeping it from getting accidentally ingested."

Freedom Township Police collected 62 pounds of prescription medication on Saturday, while the Blair County Sheriff's office received 53 pounds. Martinsburg collected about 23 pounds. The Altoona Police Department collected 61 pounds.

"Turning in even one bottle goes a long way," Hoover said.

Nationally, the DEA reports that since 2010, 11,816,393 pounds, almost 6,000 tons of prescription medication has been collected.