Drug take-back event nets nearly 400 lbs. of medication

A drug take-back event in Columbus produced a “significant haul.”That’s according to Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill.

The AG says that an event on July 12 produced approximately 400 pounds of expired, unused and/or otherwise unwanted prescription drugs. The event, held at a Kroger store, was a collaborative effort by the Office of the Attorney General, Indiana State Police, Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office and the Columbus Police Department. Hill says the 400 pounds was a record amount for a single event and brings the total collected by his office this year to 1,463 pounds.

“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.”