Unwanted prescription drugs collected

LEWISTON, N.Y. (WIVB) - A program aimed at helping the environment took place in Niagara County on Saturday.

The cars kept coming and going.

They were all doing their part to recycle unwanted pharmaceuticals.

This is the second year that St. Mary's Hospital has played host to a prescription drug drop off.

Pamela Ceaero of Niagara Falls said, "Like before in the past, I would dissolve them in water and dump them down the drain but I don't know if that's the proper way to go and dispose of it."

She's right.

It's not how you're supposed to get rid of unwanted drugs.

"We're looking out for future generations," explained Niagara County Legislator, John Ceretto.

Ceretto said that that can cause damage to already fragile water systems.

"They're working their ways into the waterways and it's gonna cause a problem," he said.

Chris Jadoch of St. Mary's Hospital said, "They were actually finding that there were only female fish in some of the streams and high levels of estrogen in the water."

And it's not just the environmental element.

Prescription drugs are often getting into the wrong hands.

No one knows that more than Joanne Hudecki from Kids Escaping Drugs.

"We have a lot of kids that are on Loritab, Oxycontin and Vicadin and all that," she said.

Last year, over 300 pounds of pharmaceutical drugs were collected and over 10,000 dosage units of controlled substance was collected in Kenmore when Mercy Hospital organized the same event.

To hold one of these takes a lot of planning, permits and red tape but lawmakers are hoping to introduce legislation to make it easier for communities to hold drop offs.

"We're hoping that legislation can be changed that it would make it easier, like dropping un used meds off at a pharmacy, which would make sense," said Hudecki.

For now, health officials said they're going to try to host drop off days several times a year.