43
Mahoning Valley officials step up efforts to fight prescription-drug abuse
YOUNGSTOWN
Medicine cabinet lock- boxes, education and awareness campaigns, and police-sponsored prescription drug take-backs are being used by law enforcement and public health agencies to battle a prescription abuse and addiction epidemic.
Police and public health officials are stepping up efforts to safeguard prescription drugs at home, a major source of illegal prescription drugs for teens and others; and to dispose of the drugs in environmentally safe ways.
They are conducting programs to alert parents and grandparents to the potential dangers of keeping unsecured drugs around the house, be they in the medicine cabinet, pill organizers, in unlocked drawers or purses.
Local take-back initiatives have been successful in removing unwanted, unused drugs from people’s homes and medicine cabinets, said Austintown Police Department DARE Officer Jeff Toth.
During the last two years, the Austintown Police Department has conducted several take-back days that have resulted in thousands of pounds of drugs and drug containers being disposed of and recycled, Toth said.
Law-enforcement agencies are always involved in prescription drug take-back efforts in Ohio because law-enforcement oversight is required by law, Toth said.
“We accept prescription and over-the-counter drugs, liquids, lotions and salves, but not needles and syringes,” he said.
Toth said he is hoping to have a more convenient way for people to drop off drugs in the near future. He said the department has applied to the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators for a grant for a drug drop-off box that would be placed inside the police station. The drop-box would enable people to anonymously and safely dispose of unwanted prescription and over-the-counter drugs anytime.
“We’ve been aggressive about getting prescription and over-the-counter medications that can be abused by children and adults off the street. We’ve extended out drug drop-off days to any resident in Mahoning County,” he said.
The Warren Area Board of Realtors, in partnership with the Trumbull County Mental Health and Recovery Board, also is getting in on the fight.
Because medicine cabinets in homes at open houses are known targets of people looking for drugs, real-estate agents now have the use of medicine cabinet lockboxes to secure prescription drugs during the open houses.
The 100 lockboxes, with the brand name MedSafe, were made available by the Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention and the Area Agency on Aging District 11. They were distributed to real-estate agents by the Trumbull County Mental Health and Recovery Board.
“Drug thefts during open houses are not new, but the incidents appear to be increasing. People are becoming desperate. Drugs can be resold on the street for more cash than pieces of jewelry. If the lockbox program is a success and we can secure additional funding, we may expand the program in the future,” said Lauren Thorp, program director at the mental health and recovery board.
To receive a lockbox, real-estate agents can call Thorp at 330-675-2765, ext. 119.
Area public health officials also are formulating plans for the safe disposal of these drugs.
For example, the Trumbull County ASAP Opiate Task Force was formed, chaired by the Trumbull County Mental Health & Recovery Board. It is a grass-roots coalition of community members including law enforcement, public officials, social service agency personnel, parents, concerned community members and individuals in recovery, the primary goal of which is to reduce unintentional drug-overdose deaths, Thorp said.
Trumbull County is eighth among 88 counties in Ohio in unintentional prescription-drug overdoses. The task force has subcommittees in four areas:
Creating innovative and effective ways to discourage prescription-drug abuse among youths.
Spreading awareness throughout the community about the importance of locking up medications and disposing of them properly.
The educational needs of the medical community.
Collecting drug-related crime information to create a “heat” map that will enable the task force to pinpoint specific “hot spot” neighborhoods for increased prevention efforts, Thorp said.
In Mahoning County, part of the effort of the Tri-County Community Health Assessment and Planning Initiative is to mount an awareness campaign for the safe disposal of Rx drugs.
“We used to tell people to flush them down the toilet, but now we know that is not a safe way to dispose of drugs because they are getting in the water supply in measurable amounts,” said Matthew Stefanak, Mahoning County District Board of Health commissioner.
“There is a heightened concern about the fate of these pharmaceuticals in our waste-water stream. Drugs are appearing in detectable amounts in drinking water that can cause anatomical changes in amphibians. We don’t know what the effects of minute levels are on human beings, especially in fetuses and young children,” Stefanak said.
“Our ignorance demands caution,” he said.
Each day, an estimated 2,500 American teens use prescription drugs to get high for the first time, according to the Partnership for a Drug Free America. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency says that a majority of abused drugs are obtained from family and friends, including the home medicine cabinet.