Ohio National Guard Counterdrug Task Force assists in Prescription Drug Take Back Day

Photo By Sgt. Andrew Kuhn | Maj. Matthew Toomey, operations officer for the Ohio National Guard Counterdrug Task Force works alongside U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and local law enforcement personnel to collect boxes of unwanted prescription drugs during the DEA National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on May 1, 2017, in Columbus, Ohio.  

COLUMBUS, OH, UNITED STATES

05.08.2017

Story by Sgt. Andrew Kuhn 

Ohio National Guard Public Affairs

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Members of the Ohio National Guard worked alongside personnel from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and local law enforcement agencies to collect 8,816 pounds of unwanted prescription drugs May 1-2, during the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day spring collection period, from areas around Columbus and Cincinnati.

Maj. Matthew Toomey, operations officer for the Ohio National Guard Counterdrug Task Force, and Capt. Jeffrey Bolin, ONG CDTF plans officer, assisted in loading a total of 403 boxes of pills into the back of a large box truck and transporting them to Cleveland for destruction.

“This was a concerted effort to bring drugs from other locations where people turned in prescription drugs, and we consolidate them into this truck, which will now go north to go get (the collected drugs) burned,” Toomey said.

The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient and responsible means for citizens to dispose of old or unneeded prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medication.

Watch a video on the ONG CDTF assisting during a previous National Prescription Drug Take Back Day at: http://ong.ohio.gov/stories/2016/Oct/20161024-CounterDrug.html

• Date Taken: 05.08.2017
• Date Posted: 12.31.2017 22:39
• Story ID: 243700
• Location: COLUMBUS, OH, US