Missouri Police Department Operates Pill Take-Back Day

Residents in the Missouri town of Hazelwood turned in more 130 pounds of unused prescription medications as part of the National Prescription Drug Take-Back event sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The majority of Missouri citizens who turned in their unused prescriptions were senior citizens with pain medications they no longer had any use for. The did not want to run the risk of their grandchildren getting into their medicine cabinets and starting to abuse the drugs. Unfortunately, many teens’ first drug experience comes from a relative’s medicine cabinet.

This is because prescription drugs are so readily available and because many people think prescription drugs are safe to abuse because they are prescribed by a doctor. Actually, prescriptions are never safe if not taken in the recommended dose or by someone other than the person they were prescribed for. When they’re abused, they can be just as deadly as street drugs.

The receipt of more than a hundred pounds of medications shows the effectiveness of such a program. In many seizures of illicit drugs, only ounces or a few pounds of drugs may be found at any one time.

This program can translate into hundreds of children spared from the vicious cycle of addiction because they’re never introduced to that first pill.

Supported by effective rehabs in Missouri, this kind of program can help significantly reduce drug abuse in the state.

If you know someone who needs help with drug abuse rehab, we can help. Call Riverbend Retreat at 1-877-862-4326.