A cooperative effort between the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office and Oxford Village Police Department is giving residents a convenient and responsible way to rid themselves of unwanted prescription drugs.
Last week, an Operation Medicine Cabinet (OMC) drop-off box was placed in the lobby of the village police station located at 22 W. Burdick St. It will be available for public use 24-7.
Launched by the sheriff’s office in July 2009, the OMC program provides a safe and secure method for people to properly dispose of expired and/or unused prescription medications with no questions asked.
The drugs are routinely collected from these locked metal boxes and destroyed by members of the sheriff’s Narcotics Enforcement Team.
The village police station is the 33rd OMC drop-off site in the county. Thirteen are located inside sheriff’s substations while the other 20 are hosted by local police and public safety departments.
‘Hopefully, this (will be) as well-used as the other ones,? said Sheriff Mike Bouchard, who participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony Oct. 14. ‘We’ve got them all over.?
Bouchard told this reporter the OMC program collects ‘thousands of pounds (of prescription drugs) a year, easily.?
‘It’s way more than we anticipated,? he said.
OMC boxes are for prescription drugs only. Needles and aerosols are not accepted. All liquids must be sealed.
The program’s goals are twofold.
One, it helps limit the accessibility of prescription drugs in order to prevent their misuse by young people.
‘One of the things that we’ve found, tragically, is that more and more legitimate pharmaceuticals are finding themselves in the hands of kids and being abused,? Bouchard said.
According to the sheriff’s office website, more than 2,000 teens begin abusing prescription drugs each day and 56 percent of teens say it’s easy to get them from their parents? medicine cabinet. Four in 10 teens who have misused or abused a prescription drug got it from their parents? medicine cabinet.
‘We’re seeing increasing numbers of young people using pharmaceuticals in an experimental and an abusive fashion,? Bouchard said.
Possession of prescription drugs without a prescription is a crime and illegal distribution of them is a federal offense, punishable by up to five years in federal prison.
Young people who abuse prescription pain relievers, stimulants, sedatives and tranquilizers often move on to street drugs, according to the sheriff.
‘People start with pharmaceuticals and then transition over to heroin,? Bouchard said. ‘That’s why we’ve seen such an incredible spike in heroin (use) and heroin overdoses right here in Oakland County and across the country.?
Disposing of prescription drugs at an OMC site also helps protect the environment by eliminating a source of pollution.
Bouchard explained people often improperly dispose of pharmaceuticals by flushing them down the toilet, which causes them to end up in waterways.
‘That’s terrible for our environment,? he said. ?(The OMC program) takes them out of the waterways, takes them out of the environment (and) disposes of them in an environmentally-friendly way.?
Neymanowski credited Debbie O’Farrell, the village department’s communications director, for making this happen.
‘She brought this program to my attention a few months ago,? he said. ‘I gave her my blessing to go forward and apply for it, and here we are.?