In April, the Camarillo Police Department took more than 120 pounds of drugs off the street.

The large haul wasn't seized in an undercover drug sting but was acquired through the prescription drug disposal program at the Camarillo police station.

Camarillo Police Sgt. Bob Adford said that people dispose of 35 to 40 pounds of pharmaceuticals in an average month. He didn't know why April's collection was so heavy.

The city of Camarillo and its sheriffrun police department began the free disposal program for unwanted prescription drugs in October, providing a specially marked drop-off bin that looks similar to a corner mailbox in the police station lobby.

In the first three months of 2009, police personnel catalogued 125 pounds of pharmaceuticals; the weight doesn't include the containers, Adford said.

The idea to start the program came from a statewide campaign in October to educate the public on disposal alternatives for unwanted medications. Small amounts of pharmaceuticals have been found in U.S. water bodies, according to the coalition of federal, state and regional agencies that developed the campaign.

So far the Ventura County program is operating only in Camarillo. Capt. Ross Bonfiglio of the Ventura County Sheriff's Department said there are no plans yet to implement the program throughout the department.

Word is nonetheless spreading inside and outside the county. The Ojai and Santa Monica police departments have called Camarillo to ask about starting similar programs. The Ojai department, like Camarillo's, is run by the county sheriff's department.

The local program is modeled after one in Northern California.

Dropoff in Camarillo is limited to business hours, when the station's lobby is open.

Federal law prohibits anyone except the police from handling controlled substances after they've been given to a patient, so collection bins can only be placed at law enforcement offices.