Medina County Drug Task Force gives update on its services for the past year

MEDINA — The Medina County Drug Task Force has done more than 600 tests on suspected drugs as part of the state's MX 908 pilot program, which allows samples to be analyzed in-house by law enforcement since becoming a part of the program last fall. Medina County Drug Task Force Director Darren Stout gave the update for the new program during the latest Medina County Opiate Task Force meeting on Friday. He said the portable device is currently used to identify methamphetamine, marked pills and cocaine and the results of these tests can be used in court. "That's huge because agencies are getting results back within days as opposed to months and months and months waiting on some of this stuff," he said. The drug task force is looking to expand training on using the tool, he said. "Several of our collaborative agencies are involved in sending people to be certified to use that piece of equipment," Stout said. "It's just housed at our station because we use it frankly more than probably anybody in the county within reason." Stout also gave some of the Medina County Task Force's yearly statistics during the meeting. He said the county's drug task force conducted 189 felony criminal investigations, and there were 163 felony drug charges filed last year. "We had a really, really good year with investigating and determining sources of supply both on the state and federal side of that," he said. Marijuana is the most seized drug in the county, Stout said. The second most was methamphetamine followed by fentanyl derivatives and cocaine. The amount of fentanyl derivatives seized decreased significantly as of late. "It was 100 grams (as) our aggregate total for the year, where we were in the multiple thousands of grams in the past with the heroin and fentanyl, so that's really significant," he said. Last year, 6,000 pounds of unused medications were taken in as part of the "D.U.M.P" program, Stout said. There are drop-off boxes for the medication in police departments across the county. Since the initiative started in 2011, more than 50,000 pounds have been dropped off. Also, the Medina County Sheriff's Office is in the very early stages of looking into a grant to put a Naloxone vending machine in the office's lobby, he said. Although it is a vending machine, the Naloxone would be free of charge if it is implemented. Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.