FLORENCE, Ky. — Florence police officers helped at stations set up in the city for the Drug Enforcement Agency’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. Law enforcement officers around the country and in FLorence took prescriptions no longer in use in people’s homes to ensure they don’t end up in the wrong hands.
“A lot of people have small children in the home, or even pets, that could get into it,” officer Ki Ransdell said.
Community resource officer Kevin Duncan said it’s something people look to steal if not properly disposed of.
“They turn around and resell them on the streets and that’s going to get into the wrong hands and it’s a huge problem for the public. Unwitting people have no idea what they’re taking,” Duncan said.
It’s a chance to get rid of those medications safely, no questions asked.
“We don’t look at the labels. We don’t count them to see if they’ve been used properly or anything like that,” Duncan said.
Once collected, law enforcement will begin the process of sending them off.
“We weigh all the drugs and then we take them to the DEA and they incinerate them,” Ransdell said.
The DEA reported April 2022’s take back efforts had approximately 360 tons of drugs.
