Young zombies take to the streets to promote drug take back day

Halloween is right around the corner, but you may have noticed some zombies out a few days early.

Saturday was the first zombie walk held to promote National Prescription Drug take back day. Vermonters walked from Burlington City Hall up to UVM Medical Center where there is a permanent drop off box for prescriptions that are no longer used.

Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger spoke about opiate addiction and the importance of getting rid of unused medicines.

The event was run by the Burlington partnership for a healthy community, along with other youth prevention groups.

“It's really important for as soon as we can, as early as we can to talk to our kids about the dangers of prescription medication. The real way that we're going to prevent the opioid epidemic is to have students making healthy decisions before they ever first misuse drugs,” said Tara Ruckert of Burlington Partnership for a Healthy Community.

Event organizers say that in 2015, 11% of Vermont teens reported taking a pain reliever or stimulant not prescribed to them.