One of the most common ways children and teens get access to potentially harmful opioids is through their parents' medicine cabinets.
Thanks to the525 Foundation, there’s a new, safe way to dispose of medications now available for free at the South Bend and St. Joseph County police stations in the form of the Deterra drug disposal pouch.
The pouch uses carbon absorption technology that dissolves pills, liquids and patches.
St. Joseph County Sheriff Bill Redman said the pouches can be the difference in preventing an accidental overdose for a loved one.
“We’re all guilty of this, myself included," he said. "How many times have you opened your medicine cabinet and realize ‘Oh man I was prescribed that for a medical issue a couple of years ago and I still have these pill in my cabinet and I don’t know what to do with them.’”
Redman said county officers will begin to carry the pouches while in the field.
“This is a proactive step to make our community safe so we’re all in and we’ll do whatever we can to get these pouches to the people requesting them," Redman said.
