Sergeant Paul Hatch on the left, Mayor Bruce Botelho in the middle, City Manager Rod Swope on the right.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Alaska P2D2 Program - Juneau, Alaska nets over 100 Lbs.
Sergeant Paul Hatch on the left, Mayor Bruce Botelho in the middle, City Manager Rod Swope on the right.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Juneau, Alaska P2D2 huge success.
Pictures and text to come....
Great job to Angela, Jim, Mayor Swope, Chief Browning, and the rest of the team. We are proud of you.
Paul Ritter
National Director
P2D2 Program
Great job to Angela, Jim, Mayor Swope, Chief Browning, and the rest of the team. We are proud of you.
Paul Ritter
National Director
P2D2 Program
S.C., Ga. communities plan efforts to help people dispose of unwanted, expired medication
Charlie Bauder, WNEG AM-630/Special to Independent Mail and Alison Newton, Independent Mail
Posted September 11, 2010 at 6:48 p.m.
Several communities in South Carolina and Georgia are planning to be part of efforts to help people safely dispose of unused, expired or unwanted medication.
In South Carolina, the city of Anderson Police Department and the Pickens County Sheriff's Office will serve as collection points on Sept. 25, which will be National Take-Back Day.
The day will provide an opportunity for the public to hand over expired, unwanted or unused pharmaceutical controlled substances and other medications, such as over-the-counter products, for destruction. The service will be free and anonymous for those who use it.
Many Americans are not aware that medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse, according to the National Take-Back Day website. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States are increasing, 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 home medicine cabinets. Many people also do not know how to properly dispose of unused or unwanted medicine, often flushing it down the toilet or throwing it away - both potential safety and health hazards, according to the website.
In Georgia, Operation Pill Drop - the name for the state's efforts such as those for National Take-Back Day - is set to happen from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 25. The Hartwell Police Department and the Hart County Sheriff's Office in Hartwell will be drop-off points.
Operation Pill Drop cannot accept needles/sharps; syringes with needles; thermometers; intravenous bags; bloody or infectious waste; personal care products; empty containers; inhalers; medical equipment; and hydrogen peroxide.
In Stephens County, Ga., The Prescription Pill and Drug Disposal, or P2D2, Program, celebrated the unveiling of its first drop-off point Thursday with a Toccoa-Stephens County Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting.
The Stephens County Anti-Drug Coalition is coordinating the program locally.
In the county, the Toccoa Police Department will be a drop-off point on Sept. 25.
Toccoa Police Chief Jackie Whitmire said the department is proud to be involved.
“So many people have leftover medications and prescription drugs and do not know what to do with them, and we sure do not want those kinds of drugs flushed down into the water system because they end up in Lake Hartwell and everywhere else,” Whitmire said. “It's getting to be a problem all over the country.”
Danny Yearwood with the Stephens County Anti-Drug Coalition said the group hopes to expand the program in the county in the future. Yearwood said he hopes everyone can become involved.
Posted September 11, 2010 at 6:48 p.m.
Several communities in South Carolina and Georgia are planning to be part of efforts to help people safely dispose of unused, expired or unwanted medication.
In South Carolina, the city of Anderson Police Department and the Pickens County Sheriff's Office will serve as collection points on Sept. 25, which will be National Take-Back Day.
The day will provide an opportunity for the public to hand over expired, unwanted or unused pharmaceutical controlled substances and other medications, such as over-the-counter products, for destruction. The service will be free and anonymous for those who use it.
Many Americans are not aware that medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse, according to the National Take-Back Day website. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States are increasing, 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 home medicine cabinets. Many people also do not know how to properly dispose of unused or unwanted medicine, often flushing it down the toilet or throwing it away - both potential safety and health hazards, according to the website.
In Georgia, Operation Pill Drop - the name for the state's efforts such as those for National Take-Back Day - is set to happen from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 25. The Hartwell Police Department and the Hart County Sheriff's Office in Hartwell will be drop-off points.
Operation Pill Drop cannot accept needles/sharps; syringes with needles; thermometers; intravenous bags; bloody or infectious waste; personal care products; empty containers; inhalers; medical equipment; and hydrogen peroxide.
In Stephens County, Ga., The Prescription Pill and Drug Disposal, or P2D2, Program, celebrated the unveiling of its first drop-off point Thursday with a Toccoa-Stephens County Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting.
The Stephens County Anti-Drug Coalition is coordinating the program locally.
In the county, the Toccoa Police Department will be a drop-off point on Sept. 25.
Toccoa Police Chief Jackie Whitmire said the department is proud to be involved.
“So many people have leftover medications and prescription drugs and do not know what to do with them, and we sure do not want those kinds of drugs flushed down into the water system because they end up in Lake Hartwell and everywhere else,” Whitmire said. “It's getting to be a problem all over the country.”
Danny Yearwood with the Stephens County Anti-Drug Coalition said the group hopes to expand the program in the county in the future. Yearwood said he hopes everyone can become involved.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
P2D2 Program Up and Running in Stephens Co.
Prescription Drug Disposal Program Up and Running in Stephens Co.
09/10/2010
A program is now underway to collect and properly dispose of prescription drugs.
The Prescription Pill and Drug Disposal, or P2D2 Program, celebrated the unveiling of its first drop-off point in Stephens County Thursday with a Toccoa-Stephens County Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting.
The Stephens County Anti-Drug Coalition is coordinating the program locally.
The first drop-off point is in the lobby of the Toccoa Police Department.
Toccoa Police Chief Jackie Whitmire said his department is proud to be involved.
“So many people have leftover medications and prescription drugs and do not know what to do with them and we sure do not want those kinds of drugs flushed down into the water system because they end up in Lake Hartwell and everywhere else,” said Whitmire. “It’s getting to be a problem all over the country.”
It is the brainchild of an Illinois schoolteacher who, along with his students, wanted to come up with a way to keep unused prescriptions out of the water supply and out of the wrong hands.
The program allows individuals to drop off unused prescription medications in the boxes for law enforcement to collect them and dispose of them properly.
Danny Yearwood with the Stephens County Anti-Drug Coalition said they hope to grow the program in the future.
He said the goal is to mark a day on the calendar, perhaps this month, to have as an official drop-off day and heavily promote the program.
Yearwood said he hopes everyone can get involved.
“We hope all of the businesses and families on that day, if they have any unused prescription or over-the-counter medications, drop them off, so that we have them incinerated, so kids do not have the opportunity to pick them up,” said Yearwood.
For the time being, more drop-off points are planned in Stephens County. Yearwood said the next one is scheduled to be set up at the Stephens County Detention Center with the help of the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office.
09/10/2010
A program is now underway to collect and properly dispose of prescription drugs.
The Prescription Pill and Drug Disposal, or P2D2 Program, celebrated the unveiling of its first drop-off point in Stephens County Thursday with a Toccoa-Stephens County Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting.
The Stephens County Anti-Drug Coalition is coordinating the program locally.
The first drop-off point is in the lobby of the Toccoa Police Department.
Toccoa Police Chief Jackie Whitmire said his department is proud to be involved.
“So many people have leftover medications and prescription drugs and do not know what to do with them and we sure do not want those kinds of drugs flushed down into the water system because they end up in Lake Hartwell and everywhere else,” said Whitmire. “It’s getting to be a problem all over the country.”
It is the brainchild of an Illinois schoolteacher who, along with his students, wanted to come up with a way to keep unused prescriptions out of the water supply and out of the wrong hands.
The program allows individuals to drop off unused prescription medications in the boxes for law enforcement to collect them and dispose of them properly.
Danny Yearwood with the Stephens County Anti-Drug Coalition said they hope to grow the program in the future.
He said the goal is to mark a day on the calendar, perhaps this month, to have as an official drop-off day and heavily promote the program.
Yearwood said he hopes everyone can get involved.
“We hope all of the businesses and families on that day, if they have any unused prescription or over-the-counter medications, drop them off, so that we have them incinerated, so kids do not have the opportunity to pick them up,” said Yearwood.
For the time being, more drop-off points are planned in Stephens County. Yearwood said the next one is scheduled to be set up at the Stephens County Detention Center with the help of the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office.
Alaska P2D2 Program Juneau
City to collect old medsBy Sarah Day | JUNEAU EMPIRE
Didn't use all of your prescription? Have old medicine sitting on a shelf? The City and Borough of Juneau will take them off your hands Saturday for proper disposal.
Mayor Bruce Botelho, who is also a former Alaska attorney general, said he'd been aware of a medication round-up going on in several states, including Utah and Vermont. He saw the successful endeavors by his former colleagues in bringing statewide collections and felt this was a worthwhile project.
One of Botelho's concerns is people having old medications sitting around. He said one of his own family members had a tendency to collect or save any prescription they'd ever had. Two issues stem from that - concern for self-prescribing and for theft.
"As I got into it, there are concerns on a statewide basis," he said, adding the primary concern is Oxycodone for law enforcement.
"There's a broader public health concern, not only making sure that prescription medications are away from small children, but also being able to dispose of any remaining items so they don't become abused somewhere else."
Another concern is disposal and people not wanting pharmaceuticals in public waterways.
"The typical methodology has been to simply be flushed down the toilet," Botelho said. "They end up being recycled into the system. We're creating an alternative for folks who want to be conscientious, who want to protect their households."
The answer, in Botelho's view, is to have periodic pharmaceutical round ups.
In order for this event to take place, special permission had to be granted by the Drug Enforcement Administration and disposal by incineration at the municipal waste facility had to meet the Environmental Protection Agency's standards.
The Juneau Police Department will have an uniformed officer at the Nugget Mall parking lot from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday with Botelho and City Manager Rod Swope and others to collect prescription and over-the-counter medications, pet meds, vitamins and supplements and homeopathic remedies in the form of tablets, pills or capsules. No containers or tubes, liquids, gels, patches, IV bags, blood or infectious waste, nebulizers, oxygen tanks, mercury thermometers or sharps will be accepted.
"We're trying to do it in a way that will be most convenient for the public," Botelho said. "We've been trying to get this thing going for some time. There have been delays in getting the DEA approval. We hoped to actually have done it earlier in the summer."
Botelho said he hopes holding the event in the Nugget Mall parking lot will make it a minimal inconvenience for people.
"I'm just hopeful that just the very act of doing this will create heightened public awareness," Botelho said. "I hope they re-examine when they are prescribed medications, use them in accordance with the instructions that come with them and recognize we all have a responsibility to not only correctly use medications, but dispose of them as well."
For more information on the national program go to www.p2d2prgoram.org
Contact Sarah Day at 523-2279 or at sarah.day@juneauempire.com.
Didn't use all of your prescription? Have old medicine sitting on a shelf? The City and Borough of Juneau will take them off your hands Saturday for proper disposal.
Mayor Bruce Botelho, who is also a former Alaska attorney general, said he'd been aware of a medication round-up going on in several states, including Utah and Vermont. He saw the successful endeavors by his former colleagues in bringing statewide collections and felt this was a worthwhile project.
One of Botelho's concerns is people having old medications sitting around. He said one of his own family members had a tendency to collect or save any prescription they'd ever had. Two issues stem from that - concern for self-prescribing and for theft.
"As I got into it, there are concerns on a statewide basis," he said, adding the primary concern is Oxycodone for law enforcement.
"There's a broader public health concern, not only making sure that prescription medications are away from small children, but also being able to dispose of any remaining items so they don't become abused somewhere else."
Another concern is disposal and people not wanting pharmaceuticals in public waterways.
"The typical methodology has been to simply be flushed down the toilet," Botelho said. "They end up being recycled into the system. We're creating an alternative for folks who want to be conscientious, who want to protect their households."
The answer, in Botelho's view, is to have periodic pharmaceutical round ups.
In order for this event to take place, special permission had to be granted by the Drug Enforcement Administration and disposal by incineration at the municipal waste facility had to meet the Environmental Protection Agency's standards.
The Juneau Police Department will have an uniformed officer at the Nugget Mall parking lot from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday with Botelho and City Manager Rod Swope and others to collect prescription and over-the-counter medications, pet meds, vitamins and supplements and homeopathic remedies in the form of tablets, pills or capsules. No containers or tubes, liquids, gels, patches, IV bags, blood or infectious waste, nebulizers, oxygen tanks, mercury thermometers or sharps will be accepted.
"We're trying to do it in a way that will be most convenient for the public," Botelho said. "We've been trying to get this thing going for some time. There have been delays in getting the DEA approval. We hoped to actually have done it earlier in the summer."
Botelho said he hopes holding the event in the Nugget Mall parking lot will make it a minimal inconvenience for people.
"I'm just hopeful that just the very act of doing this will create heightened public awareness," Botelho said. "I hope they re-examine when they are prescribed medications, use them in accordance with the instructions that come with them and recognize we all have a responsibility to not only correctly use medications, but dispose of them as well."
For more information on the national program go to www.p2d2prgoram.org
Contact Sarah Day at 523-2279 or at sarah.day@juneauempire.com.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
CAMA sponsors Operation Medicine Cabinet
SARAH SCHMIDT
sschmidt@parisbeacon.com
Not everyone finishes their cold medication when they recover from the sniffles, which is why the Coalition Against Methamphetamine Abuse is sponsoring a medicine give-back for Paris and Marshall.
Operation Medicine Cabinet, sponsored by CAMA and the CAMA Teens, began last year with the goal of getting people to drop off their old medication for proper disposal. The CAMA Teens will be running a car wash at the same time for those who drop off medication as an added benefit to hopefully get more people to drop off old medication, both prescription and over-the-counter.
“Last year, we picked up about 120 pounds of medicine,” said CAMA Director Kristen Chittick. “The purpose is twofold - there’s a 14 percent abuse rate in our area of Clark and Edgar Counties, according to a youth risk behavior survey we took. The kids told us that this was going on, so we decided to follow it up.”
Chittick said teens taking the survey indicated that one common source for substance abuse was the medicine cabinet. This, she said, is the preventative side of Operation Medicine Cabinet, as they work to dispose of medicines that might fall into the wrong hands. Chittick also said this drive worked to remind people of accessible these medications were for people living in the same household.
“This is also to remind people that drugs and medicine are easy to come by,” said Chittick. “It’s not from a drug dealer on the street. We’re trying to make it important for parents and grandparents (to dispose of old medication).”
The other purpose of the program is to keep people from disposing of old medicines in an unsafe manner. Chittick said that many put their old medicines in the trash or flush them, something that the P2D2 ecology program said can harm the environment. The P2D2 program is helping to support this year’s Operation Medicine Cabinet.
When people drop their old medicines off, Chittick said, there will be law enforcement on site, since some of the medicines dropped off are narcotics. No one will ask any questions about how they came by the medicines, she said, and no information or prescription bottles needed to be dropped off. The program could mark out any prescription bottle personal information with a Sharpie, Chittick said. Once the medicines are identified, tallied, and weighed, she said that law enforcement would transport the meds and have them incinerated.
“The goal is just to get rid of it,” said Chittick. “To sort the meds, we will have a pharmacist on both sites, partly because the Drug Enforcement Administration wants us to. They have their whole protocol, and they want to know what medicines are being brought back.”
Alongside Operation Medicine Cabinet, the CAMA Teens will be holding a car wash for those dropping off old medicine, with popcorn and lemonade available at the side while the teens work. Chittick noted that donations to their program would be accepted and appreciated.
Operation Medicine Cabinet will be held in two locations simultaneously on Sept. 11, from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m., at the Citizens’ National Bank East Branch in Paris, across from the McDonald’s, and at Lincoln Trails Ford on Route 1 in Marshall. For more information, Chittick said, people could contact her at 465-4118, ext. 267, or go to the Web site at www.camacoalition.org.
sschmidt@parisbeacon.com
Not everyone finishes their cold medication when they recover from the sniffles, which is why the Coalition Against Methamphetamine Abuse is sponsoring a medicine give-back for Paris and Marshall.
Operation Medicine Cabinet, sponsored by CAMA and the CAMA Teens, began last year with the goal of getting people to drop off their old medication for proper disposal. The CAMA Teens will be running a car wash at the same time for those who drop off medication as an added benefit to hopefully get more people to drop off old medication, both prescription and over-the-counter.
“Last year, we picked up about 120 pounds of medicine,” said CAMA Director Kristen Chittick. “The purpose is twofold - there’s a 14 percent abuse rate in our area of Clark and Edgar Counties, according to a youth risk behavior survey we took. The kids told us that this was going on, so we decided to follow it up.”
Chittick said teens taking the survey indicated that one common source for substance abuse was the medicine cabinet. This, she said, is the preventative side of Operation Medicine Cabinet, as they work to dispose of medicines that might fall into the wrong hands. Chittick also said this drive worked to remind people of accessible these medications were for people living in the same household.
“This is also to remind people that drugs and medicine are easy to come by,” said Chittick. “It’s not from a drug dealer on the street. We’re trying to make it important for parents and grandparents (to dispose of old medication).”
The other purpose of the program is to keep people from disposing of old medicines in an unsafe manner. Chittick said that many put their old medicines in the trash or flush them, something that the P2D2 ecology program said can harm the environment. The P2D2 program is helping to support this year’s Operation Medicine Cabinet.
When people drop their old medicines off, Chittick said, there will be law enforcement on site, since some of the medicines dropped off are narcotics. No one will ask any questions about how they came by the medicines, she said, and no information or prescription bottles needed to be dropped off. The program could mark out any prescription bottle personal information with a Sharpie, Chittick said. Once the medicines are identified, tallied, and weighed, she said that law enforcement would transport the meds and have them incinerated.
“The goal is just to get rid of it,” said Chittick. “To sort the meds, we will have a pharmacist on both sites, partly because the Drug Enforcement Administration wants us to. They have their whole protocol, and they want to know what medicines are being brought back.”
Alongside Operation Medicine Cabinet, the CAMA Teens will be holding a car wash for those dropping off old medicine, with popcorn and lemonade available at the side while the teens work. Chittick noted that donations to their program would be accepted and appreciated.
Operation Medicine Cabinet will be held in two locations simultaneously on Sept. 11, from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m., at the Citizens’ National Bank East Branch in Paris, across from the McDonald’s, and at Lincoln Trails Ford on Route 1 in Marshall. For more information, Chittick said, people could contact her at 465-4118, ext. 267, or go to the Web site at www.camacoalition.org.
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