Wisconsin rids 63,000 pounds of unused meds on Drug Take Back Day
The AG made the announcement Wednesday.
SAUK CITY, Wis. — The state of Wisconsin got rid of more than 60,000 pounds of unused medications on Drug Take Back Day in April, according to the state’s Attorney General.
Brad Schimel announced the total of 63,541 pounds during a news conference in Sauk County on Wednesday. He said Wisconsin had the third most drugs collected in the country, behind Texas and California, and more than Minnesota, Michigan and Iowa combined. The state also had more law enforcement agencies participate in the biannual event than any other state in the country, according to a release from the attorney general.
“I’m so proud of our law enforcement community here for stepping up and making this a priority,” Schimel said in the news conference, “because they recognize that it’s not just about catching the drug traffickers; it’s not just about catching the criminals; it’s also about prevention, about making our state safer and stronger.”
In just more than six years, Sauk County reported 66 overdose deaths. One of those deaths happened just down the road from Rodney Sherwood.
“We had a kid two doors down from us die from heroin a few years ago, small town of 3,000 people and every year there’s one or two kids that die of heroin,” he said.
Sherwood was one of the truck drivers for Fuchs Trucking who drove the unused medication to Indianapolis to be incinerated. He said he loves being part of this event.
“Driving truck is just driving truck most of the time,” he said. “Those two days it’s not just driving truck… It’s helping solve a problem, or it’s at least taking away a lot of chances for people to have their hands on stuff they shouldn’t be having their hands on.”
The company Sherwood drives for, Fuchs Trucking, made the drive at cost, hauling three trailers full of unused medication for no profit. Since the program started in 2015 the company has filled 19 trailers. Schimel gave the company a plaque Wednesday to thank them for their help.
If you missed the Drug Take Back Day, the Sauk Prairie Police Department said it has a 24/7 disposal available to the public at their station.
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