Officials discuss prescription drug abuse

A variety of Monroe County community leaders ranging from school administrators  to prosecutors gathered Wednesday at 400 W. Seventh St. to discuss prescription drug abuse in the county.

State Rep. Peggy Welch, D-60th District, directed the roundtable conference. Welch was appointed to the newly established Prescription Prevention Task Force by Attorney General Greg Zoeller, according to a press release.

The force consists of a team of about 40 to 50 people focused on addressing the problem of prescription drug abuse through education, law enforcement and treatment.
“I want us to educate the public for them to understand this is a serious epidemic, not only for the nation but also for the state of Indiana,” Welch said.

Welch said the goals of the initiative consist of reducing prescription drug abuse and reducing the number of deaths from accidental overdose.

“In 10 years, there has been a 500 percent increase in accidental poisoning, and that’s very scary,” Welch said.

Welch said Indiana is second in the nation in terms of teenagers experimenting with drugs. Welch said one in nine Hoosiers ages 12 to 24 admit to using prescription drugs for non-medical reasons.

One of the largest challenges is getting people to understand the serious nature of the substances and their potential to develop an addiction, she said.

Monroe County Prosecutor Chris Gaal said another cause of prescription drug abuse is the accessibility in most homes. Gaal said about 70 percent of abusers receive their prescription drugs from family and friends.

Monroe County is addressing this problem through its new Pharmaceutical Safe Disposal Program.  

As part of the pilot program, the county has placed disposal boxes in two different locations in Bloomington, encouraging residents to dispose of their unused or unwanted pharmaceuticals. The boxes are located at 3400 S. Walnut St. and 601 W. Second St.

The program has collected 1,441 pounds of medications so far at these locations, Gaal said.

Gaal said this is a disposal alternative that is both safe and accessible to residents all year-round.

“We want to encourage people to remove the incentive for these types of crimes,” Gaal said.