Dispose of unwanted prescription medications May 8
The event will be held Saturday, May 8, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Clague Cabin in Westlake and the Bay Village Police Department.
This completely confidential program will allow adult family members to visit any listed location, where law enforcement officers will collect and hold all medications. After the medications are collected, they will be weighed by the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department before they are destroyed.
“This program helps to prevent our teenagers from joining the estimated one out of five young people nationwide who have already abused prescription drugs,” said Nancy Pommerening, the director of Drug Awareness and Prevention Inc. “Medicine take-back programs also help protect the environment, including wildlife, by providing a safe way to dispose of prescription drugs before they enter the water supply or leach from landfills.”
The Ohio Substance Abuse Monitoring Network (OSAM) has identified an alarming trend: Opiate-based prescription drug abuse leads to heroin use, which accelerates high-risk behaviors, particularly among 18 to 25-year-old white males, many from middle and upper income families.
In 2007, unintentional drug poisoning became the leading cause of injury death in Ohio, surpassing motor vehicle crashes and suicide for the first time on record, according to the Cuyahoga County Board of Health.
“This program is a way to help protect seniors from accidentally using expired medications, as well as safeguarding them from the potential theft of medications from their homes,” said Geoffrey Moor of the Home Instead Senior Care local office.
“I have too often seen the devastating effects on young people who are abusing pharmaceutical medications. Operation: Medicine Cabinet affords us a proactive opportunity to not only dispose of these very dangerous unused drugs, but to educate our residents of the seriousness of this issue,” said SAIC Jeff Capretto of the Westshore Enforcement Bureau Drug Task Force.
To learn more about Drug Awareness and Prevention Inc., visit our website at www.DrugAwarenessAndPrevention.org.
Nancy Pommerening is the director of Drug Awareness and Prevention Inc.