Submitted article
The Crawford-Marion ADAMH board and the Crawford County Drug Free Community Coalition, in partnership with Crestline Police Chief Joe Butler, are pleased to announce installation of permanent pharmaceutical drop boxes to give citizens the opportunity to turn in controlled substances and unused or expired prescription medications year-round. The newest box is located at the Crestline Police Department, 100 North Seltzer Street in Crestline. There are two other boxes available in Crawford County at the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office and Galion Police Department. Those wishing to drop off medication are asked to go to either location. Drop off is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
In an effort to increase access for citizens to turn in medications, the Drug Free Community Coalition used grant funds to secure the drug drop boxes, which can be used to drop off prescription and over the counter solid dosage medications such as tablets and capsules. Intra-venous solutions, injectable medication and needles are some of the items that are not allowed to be placed in the drop box.
The goal is to reduce prescription drugs in Crawford County homes that are either no longer needed or outdated. These same drugs unfortunately have become the target of theft and misuse, oftentimes by people who have access to the residence. America’s 12- to 17-year olds have made prescription drugs the number one substance of abuse for their age group, and much of that supply is unwittingly coming from the medicine cabinets of their parents, grandparents, and friends.
Chief Butler states, “Anything the Crestline Police Department can do to combat the drug problem in our community and keep our citizens safe I encourage and support. The pharmaceutical drop box is another tool we can use to help keep unused and harmful medications out of the wrong hands and help keep our children and their families safe.”
More and more adults recognize the need to remove these substances from the home and legally and safely turn them over to law enforcement for proper chain of custody and court ordered destruction. Law enforcement is the only entity legally able to accept these medications and process them properly so that they do not fall into the wrong hands. Law enforcement takes control of and destroys drugs on a regular basis as part of their regular operations.
Jody Demo-Hodgins with the Crawford-Marion ADAMH board shared that Crawford County citizens were prescribed a higher rate of opiate based medications than the state average – with a rate of 74 pills prescribed for every man, woman and child in the county in 2013. The availability of these medications is seen as a significant contributing factor to opiate and heroin addiction.