Police officials say the Prescription Drug Drop-off Day here on May 21 was a success.
Organized by the Wellington County OPP at its North Wellington operations centre, the public safety initiative encourages residents to dispose of unwanted, unused and expired prescription medication in a “secure, environmentally-friendly manner.”
The total weight of unused medication collected was just under 5kg, or about 1,500 pills of various types.
“The inappropriate use, abuse, diversion, storage and disposal of prescription narcotics and other controlled substances is a public health and safety issue in many communities,” stated Wellington County OPP Inspector Scott Lawson.
“The (law) prohibits anyone from possessing any prescribed medication without a prescription. It is also criminal offence to offer or sell a prescribed medication to another person. Purchasing another person’s prescribed drugs is also illegal.
“In the end, we have to take these opportunities to continue raising the awareness in our community.”
Province wide, over 40 OPP detachments participated in Drug Drop-off Day, collecting 150kg kilograms of prescription medications.
Police are reminding residents that all pharmacies in Ontario will accept unused prescriptions anytime.
