Medicine cabinets cleaned out
No one was happier to see the red bins at Riverside Methodist Hospital fill up with an array of pills than Columbus police detective Jeff Collins.
The veteran member of the narcotics squad saw the public "medication-disposal day" -- a first in the area -- as a chance to pull the plug on "pharm parties" by taking drugs out of the reach of young people who abuse them.
"People don't understand how bad this problem is," Collins said. "This has become a pandemic nationally."
Combined, the five OhioHealth hospitals collected 1,212 pounds of drugs in four hours.
He said police frequently hear about -- and occasionally bust -- parties where young people bring prescription drugs they take from the medicine cabinets of relatives and friends. The partygoers dump the purloined pills in a bowl and take them to get high -- often without knowing what they've consumed.
The result can be sickness, even death.
Unintentional drug poisoning has become the leading cause of accidental death in Ohio. It claims more victims than motor-vehicle accidents and suicide combined, Collins said.
In 1999, there were 327 accidental drug-poisoning deaths in the state; the number jumped to 1,351 by 2007, more than a 300 percent increase, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
A 2008 survey by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America found that one in five teenagers reported abusing a prescription medicine; more than half said they got the pills from a home medicine cabinet.
A woman dropping off a bag of pills at Riverside yesterday said she wanted to make sure her parents didn't accidentally take expired drugs -- or the wrong ones -- when they move into an assisted-living facility.
"It's a safety issue and an environmental issue for me," said Jayne Wolford, a science teacher from Columbus. She is also concerned that people are harming the water supply, fish and wildlife by flushing drugs down toilets.
Hospital officials worked with the Columbus, Delaware and Dublin police departments to establish a secure "chain of custody" from the time drugs were handed to a police officer until they are taken to an incinerator at an undisclosed location for disposal. The method follows guidelines established by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.
To ward off confidentiality problems, pill bottles and other containers were put in sealed containers for shredding and recycling.
OhioHealth -- the parent organization of Riverside, Grant Medical Center, Doctors Hospital, Dublin Methodist Hospital and Grady Memorial Hospital in Delaware -- organized the program in conjunction with the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators.
Combined, the five OhioHealth hospitals collected 1,212 pounds of drugs in four hours.
Outside Riverside Methodist Hospital, Columbus Police Officer James Poole dumps empty prescription bottles into a bin for recycling.
Central Ohioans dropped off expired and unused medications at five hospitals yesterday, preventing accidental poisonings and use by teens at "pharm parties."
Safe disposal
If you can't get to a hospital or community drug "take back" program, heed these tips for safely disposing of prescription and over-the-counter medications:
• Follow disposal directions on the package. Do not flush prescription drugs unless specifically instructed. Do not give unused or outdated prescriptions to family or friends.
• If there are no directions, take the drugs out of the original container and mix them with coffee grounds, kitty litter or something else undesirable to make it less likely that anyone would remove them from the trash.
• Place the drugs in a sealable bag, can or other container before placing them in a trash bag.
• Scratch out all medical and personal information from pill bottles or medication containers before disposal.
• If in doubt, contact a pharmacist.
Source: U.S. Food and Drug Administration