Pope Field participates in National Prescription Drug Take Back Day

By Lisa Moore
440th AW PAO

November 10, 2011

	Photo courtesy of Pope Field Drug Demand and Reduction Office Danny Icenhour, Pope Field Family member, and son Tyler drop off outdated medication at the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day collection site on Pope Field.

In observance of Red Ribbon Week and National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, members of the community came out Oct. 29, to dispose of expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs.

The Team Pope Drug Demand and Reduction Office, in conjunction with the Drug Enforcement Administration, provided Pope Field community members the opportunity to dispose of unwanted prescription drugs anonymously, safely, and for free. The U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy no longer advises Americans to dispose of unused medicines by flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash. Doing so, according to officials, poses potential safety and health hazards.

Members of the Drug Demand and Reduction Office were on hand at the event to answer question and pass along information.

“The purpose of the program is to get the drugs out of the medicine cabinets,” said Master Sgt. Jennifer Icenhour, Drug Demand and Reduction Office Drug Testing Program administration manager.
“My husband and son participated in the event because we wanted to make it a Family affair.”

According to the 2009 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on drug use, more than seven million Americans currently abuse prescription drugs. Each day, about, 2,500 teens use prescription drugs to get high for the first time according to the Partnership for a Drug Free America.  Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from Family and friends, including the home medicine cabinet.

Americans participating in the event Oct. 29, turned in more than 377,086 pounds, 188.5 tons, of unwanted or expired medications for safe and proper disposal at the 5,327 take-back sites that were available in all 50 states and U.S. territories. When the results of the three take-back days to date are combined, the DEA and its state, local, and tribal law-enforcement and community partners have removed 995,185 pounds (498.5 tons) of medication from circulation in the past 13 months.

The Pope Field DDR said with this being the inaugural event, it looks forward to supporting the next.

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