Jan 25, 2010 10:28 pm US/Central
Drop-Off Program Hopes To Curb Drug Abuse
NORTHFIELD, Minn. (WCCO) ―
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At the Northfield Police Department, people can leave their unneeded medications anytime, no questions asked. Once a day, the box gets emptied and the discarded pills are moved to the secure police evidence room.
CBS
Minnesota police and health leaders are concerned about a dangerous trend: teens getting hooked and overdosing on painkillers they find in their own family's or friend's medicine cabinets.
Between 2004 and 2009, more than 6,000 youth and young adults under the age of 25 were treated at Twin Cities emergency departments for overdoses of prescription painkillers, according to Alison Pence of North Memorial Medical Center.
As authorities look for ways to get rid of these drugs without harming the environment, several small communities have taken steps to deal with the problem.
One of those communities is Northfield, a college town south of the Twin Cities. Last September, the police department installed a large, steel drop-off box in the lobby.
People can leave their unneeded medications anytime, 24/7, no questions asked. Once a day, the box gets emptied and the discarded pills are moved to the secure police evidence room. The barrels in the evidence room are stuffed with everything from potent painkillers like Oxycontin and Vicodin to over-the-counter pills and vitamins.
The drugs are hauled away by a private company for disposal.
"All indications to us would indicate that they shouldn't be flushed down the toilet, they shouldn't be poured down the sink," said Northfield Police Chief Mark Taylor.
Northfield started the drug drop-off program after several young people died of heroin overdoses in their community. Police, members of community and local doctors collaborated on several solutions, including the drop-off program.
"A lot of the pain medications that are being prescribed to people were precursors to using more serious drugs, and so we are trying to take that piece away," Taylor said.
Police and health leaders in the Twin Cities are also looking for ways to keep prescription drugs out of the hands of teenagers. They point to a big hike in kids overdosing on painkillers, stating an average of nine teens wind up in the emergency room a month at North Memorial Medical Center.
"Kids are telling us that it's much easier to get prescription drugs than it is to get alcohol and the tougher street drugs," said Pence.
Pence said a lot of kids don't realize how dangerous drugs they find in their medicine cabinet can be.
"One big misperception that we're seeing from these kids is that they think these drugs are safe because they are prescribed by a doctor, they are given on a routine basis for normal things like breaking your ankle while you're playing soccer," Pence said.
As experts work to find safe disposal methods for unneeded drugs in the cities, Pence said making parents and their kids aware of the dangers is key to preventing abuse.
"What we know with all addiction is that the earlier kids use and the more often kids use, whatever the drug, the more likely they are to become addicted to it because it changes the way their brain functions," Pence said.
Two other law enforcement agencies also have drug drop off boxes, including the Faribault Police Department in Rice County and Chisago County Sheriff's Office.
Northfield Police said they are willing to take any kind of drugs -- even illegal drugs and paraphernalia. With prescriptions, they want people to leave the medication in its container but be sure to block out any names.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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