Mercer County residents turned in more than 20 pounds of unused or expired prescription drugs for disposal during the county’s Prescription Drug Take-Back Day last Saturday.
The drugs were weighed, secured and turned over to the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and immediately destroyed, according to a release from Mercer County Sheriff Jack Kemler.
A wide range of prescription drugs were turned in for disposal, ranging from everyday prescription blood pressure and heart medications, to cholesterol pills, to dangerous opioid painkillers.
“Our goal is to help local residents rid their medicine cabinets of opioid painkillers, in addition to other unneeded pills,” Kemler said in a statement. “By properly disposing of over 20 pounds of prescription drugs from our medicine cabinets, we help to prevent abuse, theft or accidental use.”
Kemler also thanked the Mercer County residents who endured Saturday’s foul weather and came out to the drug collection site to drop off their old prescriptions.
The Mercer County Prescription Drug Take-Back Program provides a safe, convenient and responsible way to dispose of unneeded prescription drugs. The drop-off program, held each spring and fall is conducted by the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from the Mercer County administration, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office and the DEA. For more information on the County’s Prescription Drug Take-Back Program, call 609-278-7195.
