MN turns in more than 4,000 pounds of drugs to feds
Authorities say residents in the Twin Cities metro area turned in more than 4,240 pounds of prescription and over-the-counter drugs at collection sites over the weekend.
The Drug Enforcement Administration set up 11 collection sites in the Twin Cities on Saturday, and five sites in southwest Minnesota.
The drugs turned in at the Twin Cities sites alone included 435 pounds of controlled substances such as Vicodin, Percocet and Valium.
The DEA says Monday that the number of emergency room visits due to pharmaceuticals rose 97 percent from 2004 to 2008. The DEA says recent surveys show 63 percent of teens believe prescription drugs are easy to get from the medicine cabinets.
The collection was part of a nationwide program.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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