Editor’s note: This is the last in a two-part series showing how the local community is dealing with teen drug problems. The first article was published in Sunday’s Courier.
You see them while your watching television, you see them in magazine and newspaper ads, and they are in your own medicine cabinet. Prescription medications are every where in today’s society, including the place probably least expected — in your children’s hands and pockets.
To help counteract the problem of prescription drug abuse in our own towns, with the hope of the message spreading across the nation, the Benton and Bryant police departments will hold Operation Medicine Cabinet on Saturday, Feb. 6.
From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., police agencies are setting up four areas for people to drop off prescription medications: Goody’s parking lot on Military Road, the Benton Police Department at 114 S. East St., the Bryant Police Department at 312 Roya Lane, and Bryant City Hall at 210 S.W. 3rd St. The event is sponsored by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Sonic Drive-Ins and The Courier.
Benton Police Chief Kirk Lane said the Saline County Substance Abuse Subcommittee, a group of local volunteers, is also a funding source for the program and will be on site to help the program.
Participants in the prescription drop off locations will receive $5 gift cards from Walmart and Sonic free drink coupons while supplies last.
“This is a prescription take back program,” Lane said. “There is a high level of prescription abuse, not just in Saline (County) but all over Arkansas. This isn’t out of the norm for us to take in medications, it is just on a much larger scale.”
Lane said although this program is just a one day event, he plans to continue efforts to suppress prescription medications from getting into the hands of the youth. He said whether the prescriptions are outdated, not finished by the person it was prescribed to, or for any reason the prescriptions are not needed legitimately anymore, they need to be destroyed.
After the prescription drugs are dropped off at any of the four locations, they will all be gathered and counted. Then the prescription medications will be destroyed.
We want to change the mindset of the community,” Lane said. “We not only need to lock up our medications in our homes, but we need to get as many out of the homes as possible. People might not realize there is an epidemic with the youth abusing prescription drugs.”
Lane added, “One reason I wanted to do this is that people are now breaking into homes and they aren’t even stealing televisions or other valuables, they are stealing medications.”
Operation Medicine Cabinet is new to Saline County, but the program has been successfully put on in other areas of Arkansas and other states. A year ago, the Fayetteville and Springdale police departments had a four hour Operation Medicine Cabinet program and Lane said they brought in more than 18,000 dosage units.
Sgt. Bill Phelan, Fayetteville Public Information Officer, said he was impressed with the turnout and the cooperation between the public and law enforcement officers. He said the word is getting out in the Northwest Arkansas communities about prescription drug abuse with the youth.
“We took several, several bags of medicines in just four hours, that was very promising,” Phelan said. “I am not saying we have a huge problem with it here in NWA, but it does happen. We have to find ways we can shut down access of prescription medications to (the youth). Most of the kids around here were really receptive to what we were and are trying to do.”
Lane said some people may think that they should just flush old medications down their drains, but that creates another problem — pollution of our water systems. According to www.operationmedicinecabinet.org said, “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 to Louisville.”
Fran Flener, the Arkansas Drug Czar, said although keeping the water supplies is “very important” she said the focus is on keeping youth safe. She also said the Operation Medicine Cabinet will eventually become a state wide plan.
“I have been most impressed with Chief Lane’s approach to this program,” Flener said. “He has sat in on a lot of our meetings and like us, he agrees with our campaign to monitor, secure and proper disposal of prescription drugs. (Lane) is doing a lot of the groundwork to help make this program a success.”
Flener said besides the Operation Medicine Cabinet campaign, the community needs to be educated on the dangers of prescription medications with the youth. She said the means of how the youth are getting the medications has to be addressed with local parents and guardians.
“We need to treat our prescription medications like fine jewelry or a loaded gun,” Flener said. “I think we definitely have to educate not only the youth, but all society. Watch our youth with medication. How often do they get medicines refilled? If they are constantly saying they are out of pills, or you suspect the prescription bottles are missing pills, there just might be a problem. We can really limit their access by monitoring their dosage.”
Flener added, “If you drop off the prescription medications at Operation Medicine Cabinet, you can remove the temptation from the homes. And then just talk the youth, the young people aren’t ignorant, they have the ability to learn about prescription drug abuse. Give them a reason to make a better choice and it takes everyone on board teaching the same message.”
Lane said though the Operation Medicine Cabinet is just a one day event, he eventually plans to put a prescription drop box outside the Benton Police Department. He said people may not feel comfortable dropping off prescription medications with police, but he wants to change that image.
“It is just a drop off point, you don’t have to fill out any forms and we won’t take your picture or anything,” Lane said. “There are not strings attached.”
He said in the meantime, he also plans to distribute drug booklets containing pictures of popular drugs along with the street names of the drug, the side effects from excessive use and the actual prescription name.
“I guess this first time deal is to put emphasis in the community that (prescription drug abuse) is a problem and we want to educate the public,” Lane said. “And hopefully by the time we get a night deposit box, people will feel comfortable enough in coming (to the Benton Police Department) to drop off their medicines.”
Lane added, “We would also clean out the deposit box daily and if anyone ever even attempted to break into it, they wouldn’t get much, but it is still safer than leaving the prescriptions in someone’s home.”
The officers under Lane’s wings will also receive more training in dealing with prescription drugs. He said officers will be trained to not only recognize if someone is under the influence of prescription drugs, but also how officers deal with those situations.
“We want to make a big push to get officers Drug Recognition Expert certified, but financially that is strain,” Lane said. “However, we are going to try and double the number of DRE certified officers on staff, and we want them them to teach others agencies too.”
Lane did not allude to how many DRE certified officers are currently on staff, but eventually wants all his officers to at least take some sort of DRE related training. He said the recognition of prescription drug abuse problems was presented to him from Coach Russell Goodwin, of the Benton Monument Company and the Benton American Legion of Baseball program.
“(Goodwin) told me he was tired of making grave stones for kids that die from prescription medications,” Lane said. “That really stuck with me and together we designed these drug booklets. We are aiming the book at prescribed medicines. Hopefully, if it helps us, it will send a wave into other communities.”
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