Prescription Take-Back Program Helps Keep Drugs Out of the Wrong Hands

By Jennifer Loren, The News On 6

TULSA, Oklahoma -- The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics helped Green Country resident get rid of their old, expired drugs on Saturday.

The OBN organized the prescription take-back program so prescriptions wouldn't be carelessly tossed away in the trash and end up in the wrong hands.

"There is such a collateral damage of people breaking into houses to get these drugs. Robbing pharmacies, committing burglaries at pharmacies," said Darrell Weaver, Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics.

People sometimes search for the meds as a method of getting high, and flushing them down the toilet isn't the answer.

"We have environmental issues. We have water supply issues. We do not want to flush these," Weaver said.

The prescription drug take-back program took in outdated medications at various Drug-Warehouses around Tulsa.

"We'll never know how many lives were saved today because these folks took the initiative to come out here and get rid of these unneeded unused drugs out of the cabinet," Weaver said.

The OBN said the tablets and capsules will be sent to a lab and destroyed.