Operation Medicine Cabinet returns
What’s in your medicine cabinet? If you were one of the hundreds of residents who participated in the Operation Medicine Cabinet event last May, thank you for helping northeast Ohioans remove over 3,000 pounds of unwanted prescription and over-the-counter medicines from their homes safely.
Once again, the Westshore Enforcement Bureau Drug Task Force, under the leadership of SAIC Jeff Capretto, in cooperation with the Westlake and Bay Village Police and Fire Depts., the Drug Enforcement Agency, The Westlake Council of PTAs, Parent2Parent, the Cuyahoga County Board of Health, the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office, and Drug Awareness and Prevention, would like to help you safely dispose of any outdated or unwanted prescription medications.
On Saturday, September 25, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., local collection sites include:
- Bay Village Police Department, 28000 Wolf Road
- Westlake Police Station, 27300 Hilliard Boulevard
- Westlake Fire Station #2, 2110 Columbia Road
You may also visit www.DrugAwarenessAndPrevention.com for a complete list of drop-off locations.
In Ohio, teenage prescription drug abuse is rapidly increasing, and your family medicine chest could become a teenager’s best supplier. 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 Drug Enforcement Administration before they are destroyed.
“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,” said Vince Caraffi from the Cuyahoga County Board of Health.
Generation RX has discovered that prescription drugs work as well as, or better than, illicit street drugs. They mistakenly believe medications prescribed by a doctor to another family member are a safe way to get high. They are wrong. Medicine take-back programs also help to protect the environment, by providing a safe way to dispose of prescription drugs before they enter the water supply or leach from landfills.
Mark your calendar!
Nancy Pommerening is the director of Drug Awareness and Prevention Inc.