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Program is solution to this drug problem
(by Joan Demirjian - April 13, 2012)
Program is solution to this drug problem
By JOAN DEMIRJIAN
When unused prescription drugs begin to collect in homes, they can cause problems, according to law-enforcement and health officials. Throwing them in the trash is not recommended by local police departments.
But the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration provides a solution. In partnership with state and local enforcement agencies, Drug Awareness and Prevention Inc., county boards of health, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District and local action groups, a joint event, "Operation Medicine Cabinet" and the DEA's national prescription drug "Take Back Day," has been organized. It is set from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 28 at locations throughout Northeast Ohio.
The goal is to help residents safely dispose of any outdated or unwanted prescription medications. The confidential program allows adults to visit any if the locations, where law-enforcement officers will collect and hold all medications until they are destroyed.
The Geauga County Sheriff's Department will have a container available in its lobby for anyone to drop off prescription medications, liquid or pills, and syringes on that day. On other days, there are containers specifically for pills, according to Geauga County Sheriff Daniel McClelland.
It is so popular that they had to add another container, he said. "They fill up quickly."
People empty elderly family members' medicine cabinets or bring in their own unused prescription medications, he said.
No questions are asked, and it is advised that any identification be taken off or obliterated from containers.
The collection provides an ecologically safe way to dispose of the medications, Mr. McClelland said. "We help empty medicine cabinets."
There are other reasons as well, he said. Misuse of certain strong pain medications, including codeine, Oxycontin, Vicodin and Percocet, can lead to addiction and heroin use, he said. "They can serve a good purpose when used under the direction of a physician, but they can be addictive."
The disposal boxes throughout the year are free and open 24 hours, he said. The medications are then turned over to the DEA to be properly disposed of, he said.
Bainbridge Police Chief Jon Bokovitz said pain-relieving narcotics are the most common types of medications to be disposed of. It's a felony to use anyone else's prescription medication or to give it someone else, he said.
Police have seen people who steal, including shoplifting incidents, in order to fund their addictions, often to heroin, Mr. Bokovitz said. They're not just young people, he said, and they often are in their 30s and 40s.
The Bainbridge Police Department has a box in its lobby and will take the unused medications to the sheriff's department.
Mr. Bokovitz said the Bainbridge department is considering a permanent container outside where people could drop off unused or outdated prescription drugs.
"Most often they are out of date," he said of the medications. "And it's better than flushing them down the toilet."
Often, an elderly person dies, and there are a lot of medications left, which can be brought to the collection, Mr. Bokovitz said. "This gives people an opportunity to dispose of it properly and in a safe way," he said. "People can come by and drop them off. If they come, we will take it."
Flushing unused or expired medications into sewers is not a safe or appropriate method of disposal, according to Stan Smith, manager of the Solon sewage department.
"The Solon water-reclamation facility, like waste-water plants in surrounding communities and across the nation, is not designed to remove pharmaceuticals from the water," he said.
In Cuyahoga County, the Orange Police Department is participating in the April 28 event as a collection site, as is the Gates Mills Police Department and the Pepper Pike Police Department. The Solon Senior Center also is participating.
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