West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey this week announced a major step in destroying unwanted and expired prescription drugs.
Morrisey, in cooperation with the Attorney General’s Public Health Trust and its members, will soon accept applications to fund the placement of four drug incinerators across West Virginia.
It represents another step in the Dispose Responsibly of Prescriptions (DRoP) initiative, which has distributed drug disposal drop boxes throughout West Virginia. Law enforcement agencies having received and/or applied for a DRoP box will be given priority in obtaining an incinerator.
Morrisey believes these incinerators will be a major help to police agencies that struggle finding a place to dispose of the very drugs turned in by their citizens.
“Our office has taken numerous proactive steps to help eradicate the substance abuse epidemic that has ravaged our state,” Attorney General Morrisey said. “This is yet another step to hopefully achieve that end.”
The West Virginia Attorney General’s Office and Public Health Trust’s advisory board will review and award grants in August 2016. Criteria will include the following:
• Existence of a drop box program and the amount of drugs collected annually.
• Participation in the DEA’s Drug Take-Back initiative and the amount collected annually.
• Evaluation of law enforcement agency’s need for a drug disposal method.
• Percentage of drug-related crimes and number of heroin-related deaths in the law enforcement agency’s county from 2013 to 2015.
• Population to be served by drug incinerator.
• Location of the law enforcement agency and its ability to share the incinerator.
The Public Health Trust’s advisory board consists of the state Department of Health and Human Resources, West Virginia State Medical Association, West Virginia Nurses Association and the state’s Higher Education Policy Commission.
DRoP boxes are currently located at the Boone County Sherriff’s Office, Ceredo Police Department, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Nicholas County Sheriff’s Office, Paden City Police Department, Pleasants County Sheriff’s Office, Roane County Sheriff’s Office and the Shepherdstown Police Department.
