Over 35,000 pills, weighing almost 40 pounds, won't ever make it to contaminate ground water or cause a child to accidentally overdose, thanks to an effort by the Coalition for a Drug Free Bulloch County. Saturday, Nov. 13, citizens brought unused, unwanted or expired medicines to four local [pharmacies to be disposed of by incineration as part of "Operation Medicine Drop," an event that will hopefully be a regular service to the community.

Thursday, a crowd gathered at the Statesboro Police Department to learn more about the project's success. Coordinator Spencer Beckum welcomed visitors, standing beside two large glass candy jars and a sizable glass vase filled with an assortment of pills.

The multicolored assortment resembled candy or mints, which is part of the reason prescription drugs are such a danger to small children, who may think the medicines are candy. The effort to remove the unwanted and unused medicines from bathroom cabinets, night stands and drawers throughout the county focused on the dangers of these prescription and over-the-counter medicines - accidental overdosing and the affect flushed and discarded drugs may have on the environment, he said.

In addition to the pills, the operation netted about 8,000 milliliters of liquid medications that were expired or unwanted, he said.

Beckum said he hopes the "Operation Medicine Drop" will continue on a quarterly basis. The effort is funded by the Bulloch County Commission on Human Services, and the budget at the time will allow for three future collections, he said.

Keep Bulloch Beautiful also had a hand in the project, taking all the medicine bottles and containers to be recycled.

Beckum said there is no telling how many lives could be saved due to the collection efforts. "Almost 7-0percent of overdoses are by children five years and under," he said. "Which is a very alarming statistic to me."

Another danger is that older children and teens could take the prescription medications to abuse, he said. Over 60 percent of kids polled "tell us how easy (prescription medications) are to get," he said. "Easier than illicit drugs."

Medications flushed down toilets or tossed into the trash can end up in our ground water. The pills collected will be incinerated, which is " a much more environmentally appropriate way of disposal," he said.

Beckum applauded local law enforcement - Bulloch County Sheriff's Department and Drug Suppression Team; Statesboro Police Department and Crime Suppression Unit; and Georgia Southern University Police, for their support in providing officers at the four locations Saturday where the collections were held.

Those locations were Brooklet's Walker Pharmacy; McCook's Pharmacy; The Prescription Shop and Forest Heights Pharmacy, he said.

"We definitely appreciate all the effort" put into the project by many agencies and individuals, said Statesboro Police Commander J. R. Holloway. "It makes a lot of sense. I'm looking to see if we can get many more (collections) because I am sure this is just the tip of the iceberg."

Local pharmacist Ben Ross said medicine disposal drives are beneficial to the community. "It's really a good service," he said. Many customers call the pharmacy with questions about what to do with unwanted medicines, and "we have to turn them away. With this take-back, we can get them off the shelves and off the streets."

For more information, contact Beckum, Drug Free communities coordinator, The Coalition for a Drug Free Bulloch County at (912) 764-9954.