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Unused medicines pose threat to humans, too
Wednesday February 3rd, 2010
Melissa Fochesato
Times Record
February 4 2010

By Melissa Fochesato

Published:

Wednesday, February 3, 2010 2:13 PM EST

 

The benefits of LD 821, “An Act to Support Collection and Proper Disposal of Unused Drugs” extend far beyond the fact that unwanted pharmaceuticals are showing up in our water and wildlife and affecting human health.

The other issues include the dangers of youth access to prescription drugs, including unintended poisoning and death as a result of misuse and abuse of these products.

The state of Maine has experienced and documented the consequences of unused prescription medicine remaining in circulation. The Maine Office of Substance Abuse reports that nearly 90 percent of all drug deaths in 2002 were caused by prescription medicine.

Attorney General Janet Mills reports a marked increase in prescription drug arrests. In 1998, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, working with the attorney general’s drug prosecutors, reported only 50 arrests for prescription drug offenses, 7 percent of all drug arrests that year.  In 2008, however, there were 259 arrests for prescription drug offenses, and they accounted for 39 percent of all drug arrests.

In the first half of 2009, 41 percent of MDEA arrests were for prescription drug offenses.

Other alarming substance abuse trends in Maine:

— Fourteen percent of young adults ages 18 to 25 used pain relievers for non-medical purposes within the past year, compared to only 3 percent of adults age 26 and older (2006-07 National Survey on Drug Use and Health).

— By the time they reach 12th grade, nearly one in four students in Sagadahoc County has used prescription drugs for a reason other than their intended purpose at least once in their lifetime (2008 Maine Youth Drug and Alcohol Use Survey).

— The number of treatment admissions related to opiate abuse (excluding heroin and morphine) has grown by 64 percent (691 admissions) in Maine since the first half of 2005. Admissions for oxycodone (which includes OxyContin(r)) specifically drives this trend.

— The Northern New England Poison Center received just over 24,000 medication verification calls in the first half of 2009, more than were received during the same time period in 2008. The types of drugs most often requested for identification continue to be opioids and benzodiazepines.

— In 2009, the Mid Coast Maine Drug Enforcement Agency team, covering Sagadahoc County plus Brunswick, seized 1,197 prescription pills in its investigation efforts.

Communities Against Substance Abuse partners, including Mid Coast Hospital, Sagadahoc County Board of Health, schools and local law enforcement agencies, are working hard to decrease the number of prescription drugs available to our youth with community education efforts and medication disposal events.

Approximately 600 people participated in the November 2009 Mid Coast Medication Collection Project.  In two days, 1,683 pounds of non-controlled medications were collected.   Controlled prescriptions weighing 595 pounds were also collected, with an estimated total street value of $248,710.  The cost of properly disposing these medications was $7,578.22. In addition, many agencies and volunteers devoted time (320 hours) and resources to staff the drop-off sites.

Properly disposing of medication is a costly endeavor, but one our community partners feel is necessary to ensure the public’s health and safety.

Melissa Fochesato is substance abuse prevention coordinator for Communities Against Substance Abuse, which is located at Mid Coast Hospital.


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