To help fight prescription drug abuse, the state of Ohio is making dozens of drop-off boxes available to Ohio counties for the collection of prescription drugs.
Attorney General Mike DeWine says even though prescription drug abuse is a statewide problem - Southern Ohio is the “epicenter of the abuse." Dewine’s office is working on the program with The Ohio Department of Health, and the Drug Free Action Alliance.
The pilot program announced Monday will make 75 boxes available to two dozen southern Ohio counties where the state's prescription painkiller epidemic has hit the hardest.
Montgomery, Greene, Butler, Warren and Hamilton Counties will all be eligible for the program.
The secure mailbox-style boxes will be positioned inside law enforcement offices for the disposal of unwanted, unused or expired prescription drugs.
State data show two of every three people who received a painkiller prescription in 2010 still had pills left over from previous prescriptions. Dewine and The Ohio Dept. of Health say that instead of offering just a few medication drop days each year, getting those old, and often dangerous medications out of people’s homes as soon as they’re no longer needed will help.
