As the opioid crisis rages on, public health officials have been urging people to get rid of prescription painkillers that are no longer needed. Communities around the state are holding events this Saturday, which is National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.
Columbus Public Health Director Teresa Long says organized drop-offs for drugs are a much better option than throwing them away or flushing them.
“It’s about getting them out of the house, but we want to get them safely out of the house (to) actually get them into a place where they actually can be disposed," Long said. "They actually are incinerated.”
Studies suggest that many teenage and young adult opioid and heroin users got addicted through drugs they found in medicine cabinets.
