Remember your clocks need to “fall back” an hour this weekend to standard time. Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman is urging everyone to also check their medicine cabinets when taking the time to reset the clocks.
Specifically, clean out unused or expired medications – prescribed or over-the-counter. Almost every type of medication is being abused during the ongoing opioid epidemic in Lancaster County and the entire country.
“There are few similarities among opioid addicts; they are of all ages, races, and social classes,” DA Stedman said Friday. “However, what is common is many heroin addicts’ tragic stories start with prescription pill abuse.”
Some addicts start abusing with their own prescriptions, but there are countless cases of stolen prescriptions – often taken from a relative or friend’s home.
So gather up your unused and expired medications and make the short trip to your local police department where you can dump them NO QUESTIONS ASKED.
Secured drop boxes are located at Lancaster County Courthouse (50 North Duke Street) and the county Parole/Probation building (40 East King Street), and these 15 municipal police departments:
Columbia Borough, East Earl Township, East Lampeter Township, East Hempfield Township, Ephrata, Lititz Borough, Manheim Township, Millersville University, New Holland Borough, Northern Lancaster County Regional, Northwest Regional, Southern Regional, Strasburg Borough, West Hempfield Township, and West Lampeter Township.
The Lancaster County Drug Task Force does regular empties of the boxes, taking the discarded medicine to an incinerator.
MEDIA CONTACT: Brett A. Hambright, 717-295-2041; bhambright@co.lancaster.pa.us;
Twitter: @BrettHambright