Police encourage residents to turn in outdated, unused medications

The Cedar Rapids Police Department is asking you to turn in your prescription drugs for the sake of the children and fish.

Police will be holding a drug-dropoff at the Hy-Vee Food Store on 4035 Mount Vernon Rd. SE on Saturday, Feb. 20, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. where people can get rid of outdated and unused medications.

In a release from the police department, spokesperson Cristy Hamblin said that “flushing these medicines down the drain can result in the contamination of our lakes, rivers and streams.”

Hamblin also said that one in five teenagers have used prescription drugs illicitly and that their easiest way to get prescription drug painkillers are from neglected medicine cabinets. In 2009 alone, the Cedar Rapids police took 22 reports of an overdose on prescription medications.