The state has been working hard to have people get rid of unused drugs amid an opioid crisis and numbers released Wednesday show a jump in the gross weight of the drugs collected. The governor’s office on Wednesday said that in 2016, prescription drug drop boxes, located all across Connecticut, collected 33,803 pounds of unused prescription drugs, up 43 percent from 2015. “The increasing amount of unwanted medication that’s being collected at our drop-off boxes is a good sign that people in our state are taking the epidemic of prescription drug abuse seriously,” said Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said in a statement. “We all know how common it is to have extra, unneeded prescription drugs in your medicine cabinet, and you may think that they present no harm. However, you never know who could gain access and potentially misuse them.” The dangers of the drugs have become increasing apparent as officials say that leftover opioids have proven to be a pathway to heroin addiction. “Addiction starts in different ways, and that means we need to fight the opioid epidemic with many different tools, including encouraging safe and regular drug disposal by Connecticut families,” said Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner Jonathan A. Harris in a statement. The first year of the program, the boxes collected 3,639 pounds and has grown ever since, officialism said. “I encourage everyone to clean out medicine cabinets periodically – it’s a good way to be involved in the efforts to tamp down addiction and an important…more detail
