Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Ecstasy. Cocaine. Methamphetamine. Heroin.

These are drugs most commonly the subjects of seizures by federal law enforcement agents in Washington.

But prescription drugs?

Their misuse ranks second only to marijuana as the most common form of drug abuse in the country, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Fifteen years ago, 23 individuals in the state died from accidental overdoses involving prescription drugs, yet by 2008 more than 500 lost their lives.

The alarming rate of prescription drug abuse is part of why the D.E.A. has organized an event this weekend in which ordinary folks can help make a big dent in the growing problem.

The majority of teenagers abusing prescription drugs got them from family and friends, with the home medicine cabinet a primary source, according to the D.E.A.

So on Saturday, collection sites around the state, around the country, will be accepting unused, unwanted expired prescription medications.

The service is free, anonymous, no questions asked, according to officials.

Mark Thomas, the acting special agent in charge of the D.E.A. in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska, put it this way:

It’s a public safety issue; it’s a public health issue.

“There’s a lot of prescription drugs that get used and diverted in an improper fashion,” Thomas said Wednesday. “We don’t want them to enter into illicit trafficking and a black market, being sold in our communities and schools.”

The nationwide event, called the prescription drug “take back” campaign should be able to get at somewhere between 55 percent and 70 percent of those drugs, according to Thomas.

“It’s really a simple solution, it will really go a long way,” he said.

When people take personal responsibility to get engaged, “you can reduce a ton of this type of problem,” Thomas added.

Among some 30 sites around the state where the public can take their old pills for disposal between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday is the Rochester Community Center at 10140 U.S. Highway 12 Southwest.

The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office is partnering with the federal agency to accept drugs there, as well as at the courthouse in Olympia.

In Washington, the problem continues to be painkillers such as Oxycontin and Vicodin, as well as anabolic steroids, according to the D.E.A. The use of methadone has increased dramatically, the D.E.A. reports.

Seattle’s former police chief, who is now the director of national drug control policy, echoed Thomas’ sentiment in a news release from the D.E.A.

“Prescription drug abuse is the nation’s fastest growing drug problem, and take-back events like this one are an indispensable tool for reducing the threat that the diversion and abuse of these drugs pose to public health,” Gil Kerlikowske said. “The federal/state/and local collaboration represented in this initiative is key in our national efforts to reduce pharmaceutical drug diversion and abuse.”

For other places to dispose of unwanted medications on Saturday, check the D.E.A.’s web site here.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 23rd, 2010 at 2:42 pm and is filed under Top story of the day. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.