Turned-in medicines top 1,000 lbs. in 10 counties

People dropped off more than 1,000 pounds of unused or expired prescription medication at Saturday’s National Prescription Take Back event.

In the 10-county METRICH region, a total of 1,062 pounds was collected. In addition to METRICH, the Richland County Sheriff’s Office and Bellville, Butler, Lexington and Shelby police took part in the event, which was sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Community participation and commitment by all law enforcement agencies in the METRICH region was cited as key to the success of this event.

Below is a breakdown of all agencies that participated:

Richland County agencies: Mansfield police, 134 pounds; Richland County Sheriff’s Office, 53 pounds; Bellville police, 30 pounds; Butler police, 36 pounds; Lexington police, 41 pounds; and Shelby police, 32 pounds.

Crawford County agencies: Crawford County Sheriff’s Office, 69 pounds; Galion police, 96 pounds.

Huron County agencies: Norwalk police, 25 pounds; Willard police, 29 pounds.

Knox County agencies: Mount Vernon police, 44 pounds.

Marion County agencies: Marion County Sheriff’s Office, 258 pounds.

Morrow County agencies:Morrow County Sheriff’s Office, 57 pounds.

Seneca County agencies: Seneca County Sheriff’s Office, 80 pounds; Tiffin police, 25 pounds; Green Springs police, 5 pounds.

Wyandot County agencies: Wyandot County Sheriff’s Office, 28 pounds; Upper Sandusky police, 10 pounds; Carey police, 10 pounds.

The next prescription take back event will be in October.

METRICH is a 10-county decentralized task force in North Central Ohio whose mission is to improve the quality of life for the citizens we serve by reducing the availability of illegal drugs and weapons through proactive enforcement efforts.

Originally published in the News Journal on April 29, 2014.