Prescription pills are popping up everywhere, and it's turned into a serious problem across the QCA. The medications are a hot commodity and a main target of burglars and drug dealers.
On Saturday some police departments teamed up to take unwanted prescription pills off of the street. They want you to rid your homes of any type of prescription or over-the-counter medicine that could be dangerous.
Police departments across Illinois say they are shocked at the amount of pill bottles turned in. The Kewanee Police Department collected about 65 pounds of prescription drugs. Geneseo had over three times that amount, at 200 pounds. The Colona Police department had well over 210 pounds.
The prescription drug abuse problem starts in our medicine cabinets and the best way to attack it is to dispose of the old and unused medications stored there. That's what residents are did in Colona Saturday, and they say it was needed.
"Initially I suspected we'd get maybe a box full at the most, and we've got 3 boxes full already," said Sgt. Anthony Armstrong with the Colona, PD.
Officers say they need to get these drugs off the streets because prescription pill abuse is on the rise.
"Five years ago it wasn't much of an issue, 10 years ago it wasn't an issue, lately yeah this is a hot commodity on the street, and it unfortunately gets abused," said Sgt Armstrong.
Colona learned first hand this fall when Green Park pharmacy was broken into. Burglars we're after the pharmacy's shelves full of pain killers and other prescriptions pills. Police are now urging families to get rid of those types of drugs along with anything that isn't used anymore
"A lot of it's been, I would say probably 70% has been prescription drugs, and then we're getting cough syrups and things like that, a lot of allergy medications that didn't work, they're bringing in here," said Sgt. Armstrong.
Those turning the medicine in say they're pills stored from old illnesses, surgeries or family members that even passed away.
Police say teenagers are the main ones getting into these dangerous drugs and as Sgt. Armstrong says, it's a risk they shouldn't be taking.
"There definitely is some health hazards with it, if you don't know what you're taking, you don't know that you might be allergic to it, there might be side affects to something you are taking, and then you take this in conjunction with it and you have some kind of reaction," said Sgt. Armstrong.
All those prescription pills will now be shipped off and incinerated. Experts say flushing unwanted or old pills down the sink or toilet is a safety and health hazard.
