A container for disposal of prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications by the public has been installed in police headquarters at Middleport Village Hall. Here Chief of Police Bruce Swift demonstrates the ease of drug disposal.

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MIDDLEPORT — A prescription drug and over-the-county medicine disposal container has been installed at Middleport Village Hall for use by the public.

The container which looks much like a mail box, except for the color, has been installed and bolted down to the floor in the police department area which is accessed through the inside double doors to the right of the lobby. Residents are asked to check with the police attendant on duty at the window before entering the secure area where the disposal container is located.

Middleport Chief of Police Bruce Swift stressed that the box is to be used only for disposing of prescription drugs and over-the-counter medicine and that syringes or anything liquid is not to be put into the container.

“We bolted it down to the floor so that no one could come in, pick it up, and walk away with it,” said Swift.

He said it is available to the public for use by anytime living in the county or somewhere else at any time.

Middleport Village officials applied for the drug drop container provided through the State Attorney General’s office sometime ago and was advised recently that the village have been selected to receive the one for Meigs County. It arrived last week, has been installed, and is now ready for use.

The program of handling the disposal of prescription drugs and over the county medicines through a local collection box is part of a program by the Attorney General’s office partnered with the Ohio Department of Health, Drug Free Action Committee, and the National Association of Drug Division.

Swift said the container is securely locked and can only be opened by an officer of his department when it needs to be emptied. The contents, he explained, “will be properly disposed of either through incineration or another appropriate method.” He added that “getting outdated drugs and over-the-counter medications out of the house is a step toward eliminating accidental overdose.”

Swift also mentioned that in addition to accidental overdoses by the family, there is the safety factor of discouraging a break-in.

A statement printed on the disposal box reads, “Unintentional drug overdoses are the leading cause of accidental deaths in Ohio.”