Portage Co. ships over 900 pounds of drugs in twice-yearly drug take-back

By Brandi Makuski

Law enforcement agencies in Portage Co. shipped out just under half a ton of drugs on Monday morning.

The 20th annual national Drug Take-Back Day was April 30, though the Portage Co. Sheriff’s Office held several special events in rural areas throughout last week. Local law enforcement agencies also offer year-round drop-off opportunities at their respective offices. A second annual Take Back Day is also held each October.

Sheriff Mike Lukas said the Plover Police Department collected seven boxes; the sheriff’s office collected 19, and Stevens Point police brought in 22 boxes.

“That’s 918 pounds of drugs taken off the streets,” Lukas said on Monday morning. “We’re usually at about 1,000, 1,100. We had the same amount of people come out, just not as much in terms of drugs this time around.”

The annual take-back event is sponsored by the Department of Justice. It’s an effort to prevent old prescription and over-the-counter medicines before the drugs can be abused or improperly discarded in the water supply.

Last year, the collection totaled about 2,400 pounds between spring and fall events, helping Wisconsin rank number one in the nation for collecting the most OTC and prescription medicines.

According to Attorney General Josh Kaul, the Badger State collected 57,377 pounds of unwanted or leftover medications during last October’s take-back.

Since the program began in 2001, Wisconsin has collected 980,854 pounds of unused or unwanted over-the-counter and prescription medicine, Kaul said.

Wisconsin ranked number two behind California or Texas in previous years, according to the Department of Justice.

The collected medications were boxed, palletized, shrink-wrapped, and secured for transportation to Covanta Energy Corporation in Indianapolis, where the drugs were incinerated.