Police Gather 372 Pounds Of Rx Drugs

The Pocatello Police Department has gathered 372 pounds of prescription medication since Jan. 1.

They gathered 58 pounds at the Environmental Fair, and 43 pounds this weekend at the department’s drug take-back event.

Public Information Officer Lt. Paul Manning said collecting these prescriptions drugs keeps potentially harmful substances out of waterways and landfills.

More important, it keeps the drugs out of the hands of teenagers who are abusing prescription drugs as a part of a growing trend, he said.

“So we feel it’s really critical to get these unwanted and expired (medications). (We) just need to get those prescription meds out of the medicine cabinets and disposed of so they don’t fall into the wrong hands,” he said.

People can drop off drugs at the police department during business hours all year round.

Pocatello takes the drugs to Utah to be incinerated, and twice a year, the Drug Enforcement Agency sponsors the destruction of those drugs.