Drug Take Back Day Successful with Record Amount of Cars

MUSKINGUM COUNTY, Ohio- As a result of Drug Take Back Day, the Zanesville-Muskingum County Health Department received a record amount of cars.

The previous record was 181 vehicles in 2018. On Saturday, a total of 241 vehicles stopped by the health department to drop off medications.

“The DEA’s main purpose is to get the narcotics off the street. We had quite a few Opioids like Percocet’s. We even had liquid morphine come in, which is rare,” Muskingum Behavioral Health CEO Steve Carrel.

This was the 20th Drug Take Back that the health department has held. Carrel said it’s a great community service with the help of the DEA, Sheriff’s Department, health department, Genesis, Muskingum Behavioral Health and Northside Pharmacies.

“We’re providing a public service to the community by number one, getting these medications that could be diverted illegally, number one. They could be thrown into our water system,” Carrel said.

The amount of pounds they received will be announced by the DEA in a week. If you missed Drug Take Back Day and have medications you wish to dispose of properly, you can visit Northside Pharmacies and the Sheriffs office.