Does Your Medicine Cabinet Contain Poisons?

It is possible—according to information provided by McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren’s office.

Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.

Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines –flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards.

There is a better way.

On Saturday, October 26, 2013 from 10 A.M. to 2 P.M. the McHenry County Sheriff's Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will give the public the opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs.  Bring your medications for disposal to Wonder Lake Fire Protection District (East Side) at 4300 East Wonder Lake Road, Wonder Lake.  The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

Last April, Americans turned in 371 tons of prescription drugs at over 5,800 sites operated by the DEA and its thousands of state and local law enforcement partners.  In the six previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners took in over 2.9 million pounds (1,409 tons) of pills.

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue.  Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.  Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines-flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash-both pose potential safety and health hazards.

According to the 2011 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), twice as many Americans regularly abused prescription drugs than the number of those who regularly used cocaine, hallucinogens, heroin, and inhalants combined.   That same study revealed that nationally, more than 70 percent of people abusing prescription pain relievers got them through friends or relatives, a statistic that includes raiding the family medicine cabinet.

Four days after the first event, Congress passed the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, which amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow an "ultimate user" of controlled substance medications to dispose of them by delivering them to entities authorized by the Attorney General to accept them.  The Act also allows the Attorney General to authorize long term care facilities to dispose of their residents' controlled substances in certain instances.  DEA is drafting regulations to implement the Act.  Until new regulations are in place, local law enforcement agencies like the McHenry County Sheriff's Office and the DEA will continue to hold prescription drug take-back events every few months.

Additional DEA Take Back locations are listed at https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/NTBI/NTBI-PUB.pub?_flowExecutionKey=_c9D0D11EF-4068-8B69-7959-55CC0B10DBC8_kC4B808A9-49D1-595E-E21B-5C369BB46B66