HOULTON, Maine – Since 2007, the Houlton Police Department has voluntarily been collecting unused and unwanted medications and bringing the medications to local Take Back Initiatives held bi-annually.
Even though Aroostook County residents can return their unwanted and unused medications to their local police department at any time during the year, on Saturday all local police stations in the County will be participating in a National Take-Back Initiative sponsored by the US Drug Enforcement Agency and facilitated by many local organizations.
The prescription drug return initiative was created to remove unused medications from circulation to prevent misuse, theft, abuse, and possible detrimental effects to the environment and water supply if flushed. Costs associated with properly disposing of returned medications are high and have been funded in the past by various agencies.
The most recent event was funded by ASAP Coalition, whose efforts to prevent prescription drug abuse in the County include advertising campaigns, school mailers for parents, provision of training for Aroostook physicians, support of prescription drug return events, and its Diversion Alert Program for health care providers.
According to Clare Desrosiers of the ASAP Coalition, many Americans are not aware that medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the nation, state and even Aroostook County are increasing at alarming rates, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.
“Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet,” she said. “In addition, many Americans do not know how to properly dispose of their unused medicine, often flushing them down the toilet or throwing them away – both potential safety and health hazards.”
Prescription drug return events in the County have received a tremendous response, with hundreds of pounds of unused medications properly disposed of over the past several years.
For more information, contact Butch Asselin‚ Houlton chief of police, 532-2287; Clare Desrosiers, ASAP Coalition, 521-2408; or Carol Bell, Healthy Aroostook, 768-3030 ext. 629.