Strongsville Police to Collect Prescription Drugs Oct. 26

Strongsville Police and the Drug Enforcement Administration will collect expired or unused prescription medication from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 26.

It will be the seventh time in three years the agencies have teamed up to give residents a chance to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous drugs.  

Bring your medications for disposal to the Strongsville Police Department along the Westwood side of the Commons. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

Last April, Americans turned in 371 tons (more than 742,000 pounds) of prescription drugs at over 5,800 sites operated by the DEA and its thousands of state and local law enforcement partners. 

Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse, Sgt. Mike Grywalsky said.

Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.

In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines — flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash— both pose potential safety and health hazards.