After a short hiatus, the Soldotna Police Department has re-installed a public drop-box in their office so that locals can discard unused or out-of-date prescription drugs.
Police Chief Peter Mlynarik says they used to have the same kind of program…
Chief Mlynarik: “We removed it about a year ago because we though we weren’t in compliance with some regulations with the DEA or some of the federal requirements. After researching we only found one thing, either it’s a new rule or I just hadn’t seen it before but once we got that complied with we went ahead and re-installed the box.”
Mlynarik was recognized at the Soldotna City Council meeting for putting the time and effort into researching how to become compliant in order to provide the drop box for the local residents.
He says it is important to keep prescription drugs out of landfills, waste water, or the hands of individuals for which they were not originally intended.
Heroin use on the Kenai Peninsula has reached record levels according to many local authorities, with doctors recognizing that the addiction often begins with abuse of prescription drugs such as opioids.
Members of the public can stop by the Soldotna Police Department during regular business hours to drop-off their excess medications during usual business hours of 8:00 am to 4:30 pm.
