The Alliance for Safe Kids, Inc. invites you to stop by anytime, day or night to visit the newest addition in the lobby of the Yorktown Police Department. Our community is extremely fortunate to now have a dedicated Prescription Drug Drop-Off Box available to residents twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. ASK is encouraging those who would like to safely dispose of prescription or over-the-counter medications to consider making their first visit –You can empty all your tablets, capsules and patches into a bag for drop off. You cannot drop off liquids, needles or syringes. Safely disposing of expired or unused prescription medications is a critical step in helping protect our youth.
Upon discussing the desire to purchase this Drop-Off Box during an ASK Youth Court presentation, the board was approached by one of the senior court members, Samantha Greene, a 15 year old Yorktown High School Student who said she had been looking around the community trying to come up with a meaningful Gold Project which is the highest award a Girl Scout can earn. It requires a real passion to make a difference in the community, the skills to organize the tasks needed to do the job and the insight to establish a method that will sustain the goals long after the award is received. Samantha soon proposed a tremendous outline supporting an optimistic public relations approach to utilize an extensive media campaign in response to the two key factors in prescription drug abuse among teens: the misperception that abusing medication is not harmful and the ease of access to these drugs at home or a friend’s house.
Samantha has recently launched a program designed to significantly reduce the prescription drugs in Yorktown homes that are either no longer needed or outdated. These same drugs unfortunately have become the target of theft and misuse, oftentimes by people who have access to the residence. Our 12-17 year olds have made prescription drugs the number one substance abuse for their age group, and much of that supply is unwittingly coming from the medicine cabinets of their parents, grandparents and friends. More and more adults recognize the need to remove these substances from the home and legally and safely turn them over to law enforcement for proper chain of custody and court ordered destruction. Law enforcement is the only entity legally able to accept these medications and process them properly so that they do not fall into the wrong hands. Law enforcement takes control of and destroys drugs on a regular basis as part of their regular operations.
ASK has a sincere hope that this box along with supporting Samantha’s project for awareness and education will help prevent prescription drug abuse, especially among middle school and high school students, whose #1 drug of abuse is pharmaceuticals that are often obtained from the family medicine cabinet.
Most importantly, we ask YOU to talk to your teens about the risks, and be specific. Tell them that taking prescription or OTC drugs without a doctor’s approval and supervision can be a dangerous- even deadly- decision. Dispel the myth that these drugs are less harmful than street drugs because they are available through a doctor or at the local drug store.