New box safe way to toss drugs

By Ethan Forman
Staff writer

December 31, 2008 05:21 am

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DANVERS — Starting tomorrow, residents seeking to safely get rid of leftover or expired medication can drop their pill bottles in an old mailbox inside the police station.

"They can anonymously drop off their pills, no questions asked," Sgt. Robert Bettencourt said.

The drop box will be available around the clock in the station at 120 Ash St.

Unused or expired drugs lingering in medicine cabinets is a real public health concern for some Danvers officials.

Flushing them down the toilet can lead to drug residue turning up in drinking-water supplies, Bettencourt said. Throwing them in the trash can lead to someone getting ahold of other people's medications.

Prescription drug abuse among teens is second only to marijuana use nationwide, said Peg Sallade, a coordinator with the public health coalition Danvers Cares.

Sallade said parents need to talk to their kids about the dangers of using prescriptions because kids often think the drugs are safe because they come from a doctor. OxyContin addiction can be triggered after just a few uses, Sallade said.

Young people who do abuse such drugs often report getting them at home or from other people's homes, and adults do not often monitor how many pills they have on hand, Sallade said.

"Just like you change the batteries in your smoke detector once a year, you should clean out your medicine cabinet," Sallade said.

Danvers is one of the first communities on the North Shore to pilot such a program. Gloucester started one this fall, and Beverly is in the planning stages.

Drugs, not including syringes, can be dropped off in a padlocked mailbox in the lobby of the station, which was donated by the U.S. Postal Service. It was stripped and given a fresh coat of black paint by the Danvers Public Works Department.

Residents should remove labels from pill bottles if they are concerned about remaining anonymous. Those disposing liquid medications should put the bottles in plastic bags. The drugs will be disposed of at a waste incinerator in Saugus.

Police, Danvers Cares, Beverly Hospital at Danvers and the Danvers Triad, a group of local law enforcement officials seeking to reduce crimes against seniors, are collaborating on the program.

For more information, call Bettencourt at 978-774-1213, ext. 134.

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