Sheriff collects unused prescriptions

Sarasota County Sheriff Tom Knight is calling the sheriff’s office’s first Operation Medicine Cabinet as big success, with nearly 350 people turning in 277 pounds of unused and expiring prescription drugs.

The event was designed to get those unneeded prescription drugs out of resident’s medicine cabinets, where they could cause harm.

It was the kickoff of the sheriff’s campaign to battle prescription-drug abuse. Sarasota County has twice the number of prescription-drug overdose deaths than the state average.

“Based on the overwhelming response, we will certainly hold medication turn-in events in the future,” Knight said. “It was gratifying to hear that citizens felt this event was a great service.”

Contact Robin Roy at [email protected].