SHERIFF’S OFFICE LAUNCHES COUNTYWIDE PROGRAM TO COLLECT UNWANTED MEDICINE

SHERIFF’S OFFICE LAUNCHES COUNTYWIDE PROGRAM TO COLLECT UNWANTED MEDICINE

Beginning this week, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office will become a permanent repository for unwanted medicine. On Thursday, the Sheriff’s Office will launch an ongoing, countywide program designating five drop-off sites where residents can get rid of expired or unused medications. The drop-off locations -- in DeLand, Deltona, DeBary, Holly Hill and New Smyrna Beach -- will be open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday.

And for Volusia County residents who either can’t get out or are unable to get to a drop-off location during a weekday, the Sheriff’s Office will send someone to their homes to pick up the medicines. It’s all part of Sheriff Ben Johnson’s continuing effort to combat the growing abuse of pharmaceutical drugs. “The mis-use and abuse of prescription medicine is killing people at an alarming rate,” said Sheriff Johnson. “And the problem goes well beyond the street-corner pill pusher. Far too often, thieves, drug addicts and even curious children don’t have to look any further than the family medicine cabinet to get their fix. The consequences can be absolutely deadly.”

To rid homes of unwanted medicines, Sheriff Johnson has designed five district offices around the county as week-day drop-off sites. The medicine will be sealed, transported to a secure evidence storage facility and then sent out for destruction. The five drop-off locations are as follows:

1706 S. Woodland Blvd., DeLand
1200 Deltona Blvd., Suite 44, Deltona
94 S. U.S. Highway 17-92, DeBary
999 3rd Street, Holly Hill
101 E. Canal Street, New Smyrna Beach

Beginning Thursday, Volusia County residents who want to make arrangements for the Sheriff’s Office to pick up their unwanted medicine at their home can call one of the following numbers:

(386) 822-5070 in West Volusia
(386) 248-1770 in the Daytona Beach area
(386) 423-3870 in New Smyrna Beach area

“Prescription drug abuse is a societal problem,” noted Sheriff Johnson. “Anything we can do to prevent pharmaceuticals from getting to the streets is a step in the right direction. If this new program saves even one life, it will have been worth the effort.”