Lee County Sheriffs Office teams up with local business for Operation Medicine Cabinet in an effort to protect the public and our waterways.
In an effort to reduce prescription drug abuse & prevent harmful contamination of our local water sources Operation Medicine Cabinet continues in Lee County.
Safe disposal of medications and syringes used for medication is important to protect our local community. Unfortunately, it is not always clear what the most appropriate method for disposal of these items is. Operation Medicine Cabinet is an effort to educate the community on how to properly dispose of unused medications and the potential consequences when people fail to dispose of unused medications properly.
“Many residents simply flush unused or expired medications down their drain. However our water treatment facilities are not designed to remove these types of contaminants from the water supply.”, “Another more immediate risk is that the unused medications are not disposed of and can potentially be abused by someone other than the individual for who the medication was intended for. “This abuse is happening more and more frequently and is cause for concern.”, says Jaimee Thompson with Abby Services Home Care.
A recent survey conducted by The Department of Children and Family Services found that Lee County tops the state in prescription drug abuse. The study also found that 12.1 percent of Lee County students reported abusing prescription pain killers and 8.8 percent reported abusing depressants. A recent article in USA Today ties the use of prescription medications in adults directly to poisonings in children.
It is for these reasons Lee County Sheriffs Office has partnered with Abby Services Home Health Care to bring Operation Medicine Cabinet to Lee County. See more in this article.