MSP takes back over 300 pounds of prescription drugs

WAKEFIELD — Michigan State Police posts in the Upper Peninsula collected 338.2 pounds of prescription drugs during National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on Saturday.

F/Lt. Don Horn, commander at state police’s Wakefield post, said he is grateful that people are “doing the right thing” and disposing of the drugs properly.

Collecting 29.4 pounds of prescriptions at his post, Horn said that’s more than they have received in a long time.

“A lot of different people stopped in between ten and two on Saturday and dropped stuff off,” he said.

Horn said when people drop of medications, they are dumped from their containers before being weighed. Then they are packed for pick-up by the Drug Enforcement Agency and taken to a “certain” location so they can be destroyed.

“The pills get burnt down so they don’t fall into the wrong hands,” he said.

Horn didn’t know the exact quantity of specific drugs collected during the event, but said they did get some “potent stuff.”

We get all kinds,” he said. “From the real potent Oxycontin and fentanyl, we get a mixed bag of everything.”

Horn said disposing of them properly not only keeps drugs off of the street, it also helps keep our environment clean. He warned the environmental is affected when medication is either flushed down the drain or just thrown away.

“Thats contaminating our soil and could make it into the water table,” he said, “We don’t want that.”

—Bryan Hellios