By Michelle Bliss
08-23-10 – The Brunswick County Sheriff's Office will partner with Dosher Memorial Hospital tomorrow to collect unwanted prescription pills.
Brunswick County residents can drop off their leftover or expired prescription pills, liquids, and hypodermic needles, at the hospital for tomorrow's collection event.
Israel West is a sergeant for the Sheriff's Office. He says that these days, the county's Drug Enforcement Unit spends about 90% of its time and resources on battling prescription drug abuse partly because users know exactly what they're getting with prescription medicines.
"You can look at a pill and see the color, shape, and score marks. You'd rather get that than get a bag of heroin or bag of something from somebody, from somebody, from somebody."
Collecting used medications also allows for proper disposal, so drugs aren't washed or flushed into the community's water supply.
The collection event is called "Operation Medicine Cabinet" and it will be held Tuesday, August 24, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Dosher Memorial Hospital in Southport.