I Drop Off My Unused Pills

A group of experts, led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in collaboration with the Clinton Foundation, today issued a new report with comprehensive recommendations aimed at stemming the opioid epidemic.

"The opioid situation is certainly dire, but we are seeing progress in some areas," says Shannon Frattaroli, PhD, associate director for outreach at the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy at the Bloomberg School and one of the report's editors.

"Communities across the U.S. are organizing prevention efforts such as increased naloxone distribution that reverse an overdose, and drug 'take back' programs that reduce the supply of unused medications that are being unsafely stored in patients' homes. Taken together, these and other efforts suggest we can intervene in both the supply and demand of these drugs in communities and turn the crisis around."

Among the recommendations:

Provide Clear and Consistent Guidance on Opioid Disposal and Expand "Take Back" Programs: There are enormous volumes of unused opioids in homes throughout the U.S. that are too often diverted for nonmedical use. Safe disposal options for prescription opioids are needed.

I was expecting to see more people at the recent Newtown Drug Drop Off event. It's difficult to get people to participate in this activity that is scheduled for just a few hours on a weekend every 6 months or so.

In a letter to the Editor of the Bucks County Courier Times, I pointed out that more than 100,000 opioid pills may be sitting in medicine cabinets in Newtown just waiting to be diverted for illegal use (read "My Case for a 24/7 Drug Drop-Off Box").

Posted on 30 Oct 2017, 01:28 - Category: Opioid Epidemic