One of the main focuses of Detective Nick Deskins of the Grove City Police Division and his special-operations bureau is finding the sources of narcotics that flow within their jurisdiction. When serving arrests, illicit drugs are often uncovered, as one might imagine, but also common is finding stolen prescription pills in the possession of the individual apprehended.

“When we serve search warrants on homes, it’s almost every time you see a pill bottle with somebody else’s name on it or pills in a pill bottle where the names been removed,” said Detective Deskins.

Detective Deskins and his team regularly conduct arrests where the subject has prescription pills in their possession that belong to a family member or an acquaintance. They also know of cases where homes of the recently diseased are raided by those targeting medicine, who turn around and sell the drugs on the street.

Detective Deskins notes the illegal use of prescription medication in his community isn’t limited to the streets. The Grove City Police Division also has found prescription medication in the hands of teens, who were not the original individual prescribed the medication.

“They’ll have parties where they’ll just grab a handful of pills from the cabinet,” said Detective Deskins. “Kids don’t know what they’re taking they’re not they’re not educated on this stuff; they don’t know if they’re taking an opiate or taking a ‘benzo,’ especially when you start mixing that those medications with alcohol. It unfortunately can result in tragedy.”

The best way to prevent the many pathways to illicit use of prescription medication is for the individual originally prescribed, or their parent, to dispose of unused medication safely.

“Just as these pills can take lives, proper disposal can save somebody’s life,” said Detective Deskins.

Drug Take Back Day

The safest way to dispose of unused or unwanted medication is by dropping it off at a prescription drug drop-off site. Saturday, October 24 is recognized as National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. The following spots are serving a drop-off locations from 10 am – 2 pm on October 24, where individuals can dispose of their leftover prescription medication.

BEXLEY
Bexley Police Department
559 North Cassingham Road

BLENDON TOWNSHIP
Blendon Township Police Dept (back of building)
6340 Hempstead Rd. Westerville

COLUMBUS
Columbus Public Health
240 Parsons Avenue
Accepting dry pills, patches, pet medication, vitamins, and needles/sharps (in puncture resistant container)

COLUMBUS
Columbus Fire Training Academy
3639 Parsons Ave.

DUBLIN
Dublin Police Department
6565 Commerce Parkway

GROVEPORT
Groveport Police Department
5690 Clyde Moore Drive

HILLIARD
Hilliard Division of Police
5171 Northwest Pkwy

NEW ALBANY
New Albany Police Department / Plain Township Fire Department
9500 Johnstown Road

PERRY TOWNSHIP
Perry Township Police Dept.
Building #1 (Admin Building)
7125 Sawmill Rd, Dublin Ohio 43026

SHARON TOWNSHIP
Sharon Township Police Department
95 E. Wilson Bridge Road
Worthington, Ohio

UPPER ARLINGTON
Upper Arlington Municipal Services Center
3600 Tremont Road

WESTERVILLE
Westerville Division of Police
Walgreens
748 N. State St.

WORTHINGTON
Worthington Division of Police
6555 Worthington Galena Road

Participating Kroger locations:

Accepting: dry pills, liquid medicines, aerosols, needles, creams, patches

Canal Winchester, 6095 Gender Road
Columbus, 3637 S. High Street
Dublin, 7100 Hospital Drive
Gahanna, 300 S. Hamilton Road
Hilliard, 4656 Cemetery Road
Westerville, 55 W. Schrock Road