The Ingham County Sheriff's Office and Lansing Police are going to be placing opioid drop-off bins at 6 local high school football games this season.
Sheriff Scott Wriggelsworth announced the start of the Mobile Pill Receptacle on Tuesday. He says many teenagers who get hooked on opiates and eventually heroin get their start with leftover prescription drugs from home.
A University of Michigan study found one-third of teen opioid abusers start that way and 90% of adult abusers started using as teenagers. Sheriff Wriggelsworth says deputies and officers will man the boxes for 1 to 2 hours before kickoff.
The pills will be burned in an incinerator to make sure they don't get into the water supply through landfills or toilets. The program could be expanded if it's successful.
The Sheriff says the schools were chosen based on their willingness to participate and that no schools were targeted. The bins will be at the following games:
Grandville at Holt, August 24
Covert at Webberville, August 31
Lansing Sexton at Lansing Everett, September 8
Stockbridge at Leslie, September 15
East Lansing at Lansing Eastern, September 22
Lansing Eastern at Lansing Sexton, October 20
