Police Help Reduce Drug Problem In Ponca City

Start going through your bathroom cabinets looking for any expired or unused prescription medications.

Blackwell, Tonkawa and Ponca City police departments will be hosting Drug Take Back stations.

Ponca City’s will be today from 10-2 at City Hall.

Captain Earl Watkins said there are multiple reasons why disposing of drugs properly is important.

“The idea is to take prescription drugs out of the cabinets and bathrooms, so children won’t get a hold of them, take them and dispense or take them themselves," Watkins said. "And we are also trying to educate people to not flush them down the toilet, because they get in our water supply system.”

Last year the nation collected three tons of drugs.

Which was a 50 percent increase from the previous year.

Sherry Bowers, public information officer said prescription drug abuse is a problem across America.

“Something that has come up over the last five years are pharm parties," Sherry said. And I am spelling pharm p-h-a-r-m, short for pharmacy. We have had them here in Ponca.”

These parties are where kids as early as high school bring prescription drugs and take them together.

Often they dump the pills in one bowl and are unaware of what they are taking.

Bowers said it may not be your kid doing it, but their friends could be getting in your cabinets too.

The police department sees this as an important issue.

They try to have drug take back days every six months and they also have a drop off box in the station’s lobby.