Authorities are touting a new way to dispose of prescription drugs after announcements by several Missouri law enforcement agencies ending drug take-back programs due to a lack of funding.
Last month, the Jefferson City Police Department announced they would no longer accept prescription drugs after the Drug Enforcement Administration eliminated funding and assistance for the Federal Prescription Drug Take Back Program. It had been JCPD's only funding source for the safe disposal of prescription drugs.
The Columbia Police Department also made a similar announcement.
At a news conference Thursday, members of the ACT Missouri Substance Abuse Prevention Network announced they will provide Deterra Drug Deactivation Systems to 10 regional support centers across the state.
State Rep. Holly Rehder, R- Sikeston, said prescription drug abuse is a silent epidemic that is not being effectively dealt with. "Missouri is the only state without a prescription monitoring program, and we have a plethora of these pills out on the street and we want to use every method possible to get this under control," she said.
Cole County Sheriff Greg White said law enforcement agencies are seeing what is known as "pharm" parties.
"Young people will collect pills from their parents' or grandparents' medicine cabinets and mix all the pills together, without knowing what they're taking, which is incredibly dangerous," he said. "A solution to this problem is the proper disposal of prescription drugs and this product should help do that."
White hopes that by September his department will have monthly schedule for residents to drop off unused pills and see them destroyed in front of them. Members of the sheriff's posse would be helping with the Saturday program. It would done on camera in the sheriff's department lobby to document everything.
Natalie Newville of ACT Missouri said the Deterra system is a bag into which the pills are dumped. Water is added and the bags are sealed, then thrown away. The bags contain activated carbon, also used in municipal water purification, as an absorbent for chemicals. In solution, it can safely deactivate medications.
"It is safe to be dumped in landfills so we don't have any issues there," she said. "This can hopefully help clear out evidence rooms and prescription drop off boxes that are full."
Newville said when they started doing collections in 2010, Missouri collected around 5,000 pounds of pills. In 2014, more than 33,000 pounds of pills were collected.
"That shows our education efforts are working and that people don't want these pills to sit in their homes," she said. "Our concern is that with communities no longer able to collect the pills that we'll see a backslide and pills will be flushed down the toilet or left in medicine cabinets where children can get a hold of them."
Newville said ACT Missouri wants to partner with local pharmacies to carry individual size bags that allow a person to dispose of drugs themselves.
"A lot of times, the theft reports we take deal with someone taking a relative's medication," White said, "or someone comes to front the door of a residence asking to use the restroom after their car breaks down and goes through a medicine cabinet looking for drugs.
"Drugs have a lifespan and they become dangerous. Just saving medication because you want to keep it around is not necessarily a wise thing to do."