The Benton Police Department is launching Operation Medicine Cabinet IV on Oct. 29th as part of the on-going DEA prescription medicine take back initiative.  Officers will once again be staffing drop-off locations in the city in conjunction with other law enforcement agencies in the county and state. 

Officers recently took part in a statewide planning session at the capital recently and heard from Deputy Director Benjamin B. Tucker of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) who was in attendance.  Deputy Tucker shared information with the group about the National Prescription Drug Control Strategy and gave insight into future projects. 

The planning and coordinating committee for our local group will be meeting soon to discuss the logistics of our upcoming event to make it another success.  During this planning process the group will be looking at locations for the event and prizes that will once again be offered for those that participate by dropping off medicine.  Everyone is encouraged to start looking through their own medicine cabinet in preparation for this event, and if you can’t make it on Oct. 29th you’re encouraged to use the 24 hour drop-off box located at the Benton Police Department. 

Saline County and Benton have both lead the state in the amount of drugs taken back in all of the previous statewide drug take backs.  That isn’t to say we necessarily have more of a problem with prescription drug abuse, just that our population is more attune to the problem and is better educated about the dangers.  By continuing to educate our citizen’s, our intention is to continue leading the state in future drug take back events and see a decrease in the amount of injuries and deaths associated with their misuse. 

Just a reminder that approximately 70% of all prescription drugs illegally obtained are taken from people’s homes and not pharmacies or off the street.  Approximately 1/5 (52 million people) of the US population aged 12 and older reported non-medical use of psychotherapeutic drugs at some point in their lifetime.  These include prescription-type pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants, and sedatives. 

The purpose of sharing these statistics is to convey the importance of participating in drug take back events and the continuance of education to our citizens.  The numbers reported from the Saline County Coroners’ office that attribute deaths to prescription drug abuse are still lower than they were three years ago, but our desire is to see zero related deaths in our community. 

Additional details about Operation Medicine Cabinet IV will be forthcoming soon, but until then please mark your calendar and make plans to attend on Oct. 29th.   For additional information about prescription drug abuse and helpful links please visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s website at: www.samhsa.gov.   For information on the statewide drug take back and other drop off sites please go to: www.artakeback.org