If you are alive and paying any attention you know that prescription drug abuse is a major problem all around the world. The United States is no exception. Efforts to curb prescription medication abuse have proven quite difficult.
One great idea is prescription drug collection. Unwanted and unused prescription drugs need to be disposed of in an environmentally-friendly way. They do not belong in the water supply and they do not belong in the medicine cabinet or under the sink where they are vulnerable to children and others.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's recent initiative to collect expired or unwanted prescription drugs netted some good results.
The collection is intended to prevent the drugs from falling into the hands of the wrong people — drug dealers, addicts and curious teenagers.
In one Pennsylvania county, Chester County, local participating police departments collected nearly 600 pounds of prescription drugs. Despite the great collection effort, bad weather condition may have hampered the overall haul. Back in April, 2011, 1,254 pounds were collected in the county.
"As you can see, compared from last year, the weather had a big effect on the results," Cannon said. "Nonetheless, it was a big success, considering the snow and storms."
The DEA is starting National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.
The number of Americans who abuse prescription drugs is greater than the number of those who use cocaine, hallucinogens and heroin combined.
The scariest statistic involves our children. It is estimated that one in every three new prescription drug abusers are age 12 to 17.
Are prescription drugs a gateway to crystal meth and heroin?
Experts say those who abuse prescription drugs often switch to common street drugs, such as heroin, because they are cheaper.
In May, the DEA collected 24,650 pounds of expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs at more than 400 collection sites.
Prescription drug collections are important both by taking drugs out of circulation and also not polluting the environment. I would like to see drug education classes targeting youth increase the emphasis on the dangers of prescription medications.