After having to postpone the Drug Take Back event scheduled for October 26 due to the rainy weather that hit the area, organizers of the event wasn’t sure what to expect when the date was rescheduled for Saturday, which was cold and windy, but sunny.
“Actually, it’s beyond my expectations,” said Youth Rise Coordinator Amy Smith. “I thought with the cold and to try and get people to dig in their cabinets and fund what should be taken out of their medicine cabinets, I figured we’d have maybe 10 to 15 people. I’m excited with the number of people we’ve had today.”
It turned out that between 20 and 25 people took part in the event held at the Frankfort High School parking lot, which netted 28 pounds of medications that were taken off the street, according to the Frankfort Police Department.
Back on October 26, Indiana participated in the 18th nationwide “Prescription Drug Take Back Day”. Indiana State Police reported the final numbers from the promotion recently which revealed that Hoosiers properly disposed of 16,483 pounds, or more than eight tons, of unused medications, according to ISP.
Smith said between 12 and 15 members from the Youth Rise group helped Frankfort Police officers Jake Myers and Jeremy Rushton with the event.
“I definitely think we will continue with this event in the future,” said Smith. “Our Youth Rise teen educators pick a topic every month. For October, it was prescription drugs and being aware of the risks of becoming addicted to prescription drugs. They thought this would be a great way of getting those drugs off the streets.”