July 5, 2009 — In an effort to curtail prescription drug abuse, three Rogers County agencies this July will host a program to keep unused or out-of-date prescriptions out of the wrong hands.

Healthy Community Partnership, in cooperation with the Claremore Police Department and the Rogers County Sheriff’s Office will be sponsoring “Operation Medicine Cabinet,” a voluntary “prescription-drug takeback” program on Saturday, July 25 at Ne-Mar Center in Claremore.

“Teens and pre-teens are finding it easier and easier to get their hands on prescription drugs,” said Trisha DeLozier, prevention specialist, Healthy Community Partnership. “By contrast, today’s parents underestimate how easy it is for them to come by or to purchase prescription drugs — this relative low level of parental awareness of their teen’s nighttime activities is also related to an increase in prescription drug use.”

According to the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, illegal diversion of prescription drugs has skyrocketed nationally and locally.

The use of Hydrocodone in Oklahoma is seventh in the country with more than 120 million doses prescribed annually. Rogers County dispenses Morphine at about 160 percent the state average, and also uses Methadone at a 75 percent higher rate.

Both drugs are extremely addictive and can lead to increased risk of mortality if used improperly.

Other OBN statistics are equally as alarming.

In 2006, in Oklahoma there were 522 prescription-related deaths, compared to only 268 in 2000. For the first six months of 2008, Rogers County had eight prescription overdose related deaths, compared to four for the entire year of 2007.

Additionally, Rogers County dispenses Morphine at roughly 160 percent the state average, and uses Methadone at a 75 percent higher rate —troubling figures for Claremore Police Department evidence officer Tami Burnett.

“Our involvement is due to the realization that the misuse and distribution of pharmaceutical drugs by adults and juveniles has become a growing problem throughout our community,” Burnett said. “We’re focused on trying to keep Rx drugs such as Hydrocodone, Morphine, Methadone, Xanax, Codeine, etc. out of the hands of our young people — and oftentimes, these drugs originate from the medicine cabinets of their parents or the parents of friends.”

“Our partnership with Healthy Communities and the Rogers County Sheriff’s Department is reflected in the ‘Operation Medicine Cabinet’ event, as well as our planning to offer a permanent ‘drug-dump’ site here at the police department for un-needed pharmaceutical drugs,” Burnett said. “It is also to bring awareness to our community of this rapidly growing problem.

“Parents, relatives, friends, and/or neighbors don’t fully understand they may be unintentionally becoming our youths Rx drug suppliers when they fail to monitor and dispose of their prescription drugs,” Burnett continued. “To kids, prescription drug use may seem clean and safe, but in actuality, the ramifications of misusing prescription drugs are the total opposite. Our youth need to be educated about the consequences of taking pharmaceutical drugs not originally prescribed for them.”

According to the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health conducted by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), every day, 2,500 youngsters age 12 to 17 try a painkiller for the first time, and teens abuse prescription drugs more than any illicit street drug except marijuana.

A vast array of pharmaceuticals — including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones — have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, according to an Associated Press investigation.

In the course of a five-month inquiry, the AP discovered that drugs have been detected in the drinking water supplies of 24 major metropolitan areas — from Southern California to Northern New Jersey, from Detroit, Mich. to Louisville, Ky. Another impact of improper disposal of prescription drugs, DeLozier said, is that on the environment.

“On an environmental note, the EPA continues to research the effects of pharmaceuticals in water sources. Improper drug disposal is a big concern now,” DeLozier said. “ A study published in 2002 in which there was a sampling in 139 streams across 30 states found that 80 percent had measurable concentrations of prescription/nonprescription drugs.

“Oklahoma was one of the thirty states that had been chosen. One of the sampling sites included Bird Creek, in Catoosa,” she said.

“Many people feel that flushing drugs down the toilet is safer than throwing them away, but that water will eventually make its way back into a river, stream, lake or other body of water that is ultimately a source for someone's drinking water,” said Cassie Sowers, marketing director, City of Claremore. “Our water and waste water treatment plants are built to treat for bacteria and similar organisms. Treating for prescription and non-prescription drugs is very difficult and very costly.”

Additionally, Sowers said, drugs that dissolve into water sources can also be detrimental to fish and wildlife.

“Throwing them (prescription drugs) into the trash where they will end up in a landfill creates a similar situation,” she said. “The drugs eventually dissolve into the ground water — the only completely safe way to dispose of them is to take them to a collection event where they are guarded by law enforcement and sent to a lab for destruction.”

Officials are asking all Rogers County residents to go through their medicine cabinets to gather all unwanted and/or out-of-date prescription drugs.

The “Operation Medicine Cabinet” drop-off event will be Saturday, July 25, 2009, at Ne-Mar Shopping Center. Law enforcement officers will be on hand to safely collect the drugs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. All drugs will be transported in guarded boxes to the destruction site immediately following the event.

Fore more information, contact Trisha DeLozier with Healthy Community Partnership at 260-0301, the Claremore Police Department at 341-1212 or the Rogers County Sheriff's Office at 341-3535.