Adams County, Pennsylvania to Host Medicine Take Back in April
On April 28, 2012, residents of Pennsylvania's Adams County will take part in a national medicine take back in an effort to prevent any abuse of medications that are no longer being used.
"Medicine abuse was not on my radar," says Phil Bauer, a father in the region who lost his son to prescription drug abuse. "I had no idea that kids were using prescription drugs to get high, or self-medicate, or self-regulate."
Ever since Bauer lost his son, he has been dedicating himself to educating other parents about the phenomenon with the hopes that they can avoid the same pain that he experienced when his son died. In April, Adams County police agencies, along with volunteers, are going to participate in the effort, which is in its fourth year. The take back is an effort originally started by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and has been successful in previous years.
The take back effort is meant to reduce prescription drug abuse by helping patients dispose of their medications in a safe manner. The take back also serves to minimize groundwater pollution that occurs when people flush their meds into the sewage systems. The theory behind this effort is based on the fact that most people believe that it is the availability of these drugs that cause so many people to abuse them in the first place. It doesn’t help that many people don’t view prescription medications as a dangerous drug since they are prescribed.
The take back will be hosted at various locations all across the country.
Prescription medications are getting to be more and more dangerous to patients and their families. One of the most commonly abused types of medications includes antidepressants like Paxil, Prozac and Celexa. These medications are known to cause patients to commit suicide, act violently toward others and even cause birth defects in babies whose mothers take the drug while pregnant. Antidepressant medications are seen by many to be overly prescribed in today’s society and this new take back program can help patients dispose of these dangerous drugs in a safe way.
