Why is Operation Medicine Drop Needed?

By: Sheriff Joe Shook

Unused and expired medications in the United States and other countries

exact an incredible toll on patient safety and public health. In the

United States, an estimated $1 billion of prescription drugs are thrown

away each year. Increasing availability, marketing, and purchase of

prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceutical products, coupled with

the tendency of patients to stockpile drugs at home, is a unique

phenomenon that has long been ignored. Compounding this problem is that

no comprehensive state or federal program exists to safely collect

unwanted drugs and dispose of them properly, except through reverse

distributors and only for large healthcare institutions.

Many significant problems are associated with unused and expired drugs

in the home. Drugs often are left unsecured in cabinets and on counters.

Improper use of drugs may cause an overdose and drug interactions.

Accidental poisoning from ingestion of drugs among children and pets

often occurs in homes where medicine is easily accessible. For example,

about 40 percent of poisoning among children occurs in grandparents’

homes.

Drug diversion —theft, burglary, illegal possession, and drug abuse — is

a major crime in households where narcotics are present. All are a

significant patient safety problem of epidemic proportion. Furthermore,

the disposable of unwanted drugs as household trash or by flushing them

down the sink or toilet is unwise and dangerous to the environment,

potentially contaminating the water supply.

Unintentional poisoning deaths and injuries are increasing nationwide.

Children ages 1-5 account for 23 percent of all emergency department

visits related to poisoning and these types of injuries result in a high

death rate of infants under the age of one due to their smaller size. In

North Carolina in 2008, unintentional poisoning was second to only motor

vehicle crashes as the cause of unintentional injury death among

children. And among people 35 to 54 years old, unintentional poisoning

caused more deaths than motor vehicle crashes nationwide and in North

Carolina. (Data provided by the N.C. Division of Public Health.)

The most common culprits for children are access to the following drugs:

• Over-the-Counter Medications: cough and cold, iron tablets,

antihistamines and anti-inflammatory medications

• Prescription Medications: anti-depressants, narcotics and recreational

drugs

For adults, the largest risk is misuse and overuse of narcotic pain

medications. Following medication is poisoning from household products

including bleach, disinfectants, pesticides and detergents/cleaning

products.

How Can My Community Prevent Unintentional Poisoning From Medications?

One intervention to reduce unintentional poisoning is the collection of

unused and expired medication at community events. Best practices for a

take-back program are described below for replication in your community.

Our goal at the Clay County Sheriff’s Office is to create a

community-based program to collect unused and expired prescription

medication to reduce unintentional poisonings.  We are partnering with A

Safe and Drug Free Clay County Drug Coalition and other state agencies

to host “Operation Medicine Drop.”  We will be collecting your

medications March 15 – March 19, 2010 between the hours of 8:00 am –

5:00 pm at the Sheriff’s Office located at 295 Courthouse Drive.  If you

have any questions, please contact the Sheriff’s Office (828) 389-6354.