Northwest Iowa — This coming Saturday is one of two national Drug Takeback Days sponsored by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration.
Lyon County Sheriff Stewart Vander Stoep says they are doing their part by making their drug takeback box available to the public. He says it’s amazing sometimes how fast those medicine cabinets and other medicine storage areas fill up.
Vander Stoep says the takeback day is to raise awareness of the problem, but if you can’t make it on Saturday, that’s fine, because their drug takeback box is available 24/7, 365 in their entrance.
He says many of the drugs they receive in the box have the potential for abuse.
Vander Stoep tells us about an incident they had years ago that highlights the need to get rid of your old prescriptions.
Experts say that even if your prescriptions don’t have the potential for abuse, keeping old prescriptions can also be bad for the person they are prescribed for if they expect them to work when they’re expired. The dropoff boxes are a good resource too because even those kinds of drugs should not be thrown in the garbage or flushed down the toilet.
There are many drug drop boxes in northwest Iowa. Most medical facilities and most pharmacies also have them. Not all of the drop boxes are listed, but click here for a drop box locator.
