GPD sets Drug Take Back Day for Saturday at GHS

The next in a series of Drug Take Back Day events is scheduled for Saturday, April 22 from 9 a.m. to noon in the upper parking lot at Greencastle High School, 910 E. Washington St.

The Greencastle Police Department (GPD) is again teaming up with the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) to take unwanted, expired or unused medications out of residents’ homes and medicine cabinets.

GPD has been participating in the Drug Take Back event since it started in 2011. Saturday will mark the 13th DEA event overall and the 12th time that GPD will also team with the Greencastle School Corporation to help take drugs off local streets and out of homes.

To date, GPD Chief Tom Sutherlin told the City Council recently, 3,331.5 pounds of medication has been collected locally and removed from the community through the effort.

Again, no questions are ever asked at the Drug Take Back Day effort, Chief Sutherlin said.

“People just drive through our location and drop off their medications,” he said. “People do not need to be concerned about labels being left on their medicine bottles because everything gets destroyed by fire at the Buzzi Unicem USA Plant here in Putnam County.”

Both over-the-counter medications and prescription medication -- pills, liquids or powders -- will be accepted.

“Anything in your cabinets minus sharps (needles)” can be dropped off Saturday, Sutherlin said.

GPD does not have a way to destroy sharps and Buzzi Unicem prefers not to put them in its incinerator, Sutherlin explained.

However, the Board of Health now has needle clippers available through a project with West Central Solid Waste that can help solve the sharps disposal problem, Sutherlin said.

Persons may contact the Board of Health for more information.