April 18, 2012 Vol. 91 No. 16
Area residents may drop off unused prescription drugs on April 28 at several North County locations.
National Drug Take Back Day
IN this Issue
The cities of Florissant, Hazelwood and Maryland Heights are just a few joining the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to collect unused prescription drugs during National Drug Take Back Day on April 28. The service is free and anonymous. Please bring potentially dangerous expired, unused or unwanted prescription drugs to one of the participating locations. Florissant residents may drop off their unused prescription drugs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at one of three locations: the JFK Community Center, 315 Howdershell; the James J. Eagan Civic Center, 1 James J. Eagan Drive; or the Florissant Police Department, 1700 N. Hwy. 67. The Hazelwood Police Department will accept prescription drugs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Police Station at Hazelwood City Hall, 415 Elm Grove Lane, or at the Police Sub-Station at St. Louis Mills. Maryland Heights residents may drop off from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Maryland Heights Government Center, 11911 Dorsett Road (the intersection of Dorsett Road and Millwell Drive). Citizens may drive up and drop off without getting out of their car. The collection site will be set up in front of the Police Department entrance. North County residents may also drop off prescription drugs at the North County Recreation Center, 2577 Redman Road, St. Louis. Last October, Americans turned in 377,080 pounds – 188.5 tons – of prescription drugs at over 5,300 sites operated by the DEA and nearly 4,000 state and local law enforcement agencies, including the one for Hazelwood. In its three previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners took in almost a million Around Town . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4 Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
pounds – nearly 500 tons – of pills. This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Abuse of prescription drugs is the fastest-growing segment for illegal drug use in America. In the U.S. alone, more than 15 million people abuse prescription drugs, more than the combined number who reported using cocaine, methamphetamines, and heroin. Plus, disposing of unused medicines by flushing them down the toilet has the potential of poisoning our clean water systems. Prescription drugs that languish in home medicine cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. The number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs are alarmingly high as well. According to recent studies, the number of hospital emergency room visits attributable to the abuse of prescription drugs has substantially increased since 2004. And, the number of confirmed overdoses caused by prescription drug abuse has surpassed those of all other illegal drugs combined. The explosive increase in prescripLearn & Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Pet Apdoption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Movie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
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tion drug abuse is of particular concern among teenagers. Recent statistics show that one in five teens reported that they have abused prescription drugs to get high, and one in seven reported doing so
in the past 12 months. They often experiment with these drugs at unsupervised teen parties and get hooked on them by raiding the home medicine cabinet or asking friends for their supply.
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“The Three Stooges” - Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox
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