Gulfport Police Collects Unused Medications

Fourteen participating law enforcement agencies collected 758.18 pounds of prescription medications during the annual Operation Medicine Cabinet. The Gulfport Police Department accepted medications at the Walgreens on Gulfport Blvd. S. from 10 - 2 p.m. In four hours they collected 8 pounds of pills.

Operation Medicine Cabinet events to date (two in 2009; two in 2010; and two
in 2011); along with OMC's permanent drop-off containers at the Sheriff's
Administration Building and North District Station have collected over 6,000
pounds of medications.

The event is designed to educate the public and raise awareness about the problem of prescription drugs abuse. The problem has reached epidemic proportions, with prescription drugs as the number one abused drug in the United States, surpassing all other illicit drugs, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.