This month during National Substance Abuse Prevention Month, Essentia Health with Leighton Broadcasting and LAKES TV3 are bringing you a series to learn more about the opioid crises in our communities. What are opioids? Why is this happening? What can we do about it? How can we help? These are some of the questions we’re tackling in this series.
HOW CAN WE HELP?
There are efforts in our communities and counties to tackle this problem. We can start by talking about drug risks with our family and friends and rejecting the idea that this can’t happen to us. Get involved where you can. Speak up and contact law enforcement when you suspect drug-related activity.
Nowadays people breaking into homes aren’t looking for jewelry, they’re looking for prescription pills. Elderly people tend to be a target because they’re more likely to have medications and they tend to not dispose of them. If you’re selling your home be aware that your open house may be a target for people looking for prescription drugs as well. Hide them, lock them up or take them out of your home.
Drugs that are of interest to dealers are muscle relaxers, pain killers, depression or anxiety medications, sleeping pills and ADHD medication.
SAFE DISPOSAL
Old and unused prescriptions and medications in your home can pose a risk for accidental poisoning, overdose, theft, and drug abuse. Flushing unused medications down the drain or toilet or throwing them in the trash can contaminate drinking water and cause environmental problems particularly in our rivers and lakes.
All five of our counties in our outreach area have drug Take Back Boxes at county Sheriff offices as well as certain pharmacies. Drop off is anonymous and no ID is required. Keep medications in the original container or place in a sealed, clear plastic bag. Use a marker to cross out personal information on the container.
The easiest way for you to protect your family and home is to take your unused, not needed, or expired prescriptions, over-the-counter medications, and pet medications to a drop off box. If transportation is an issue, you can purchase Deterra bags online which are a safe and environmentally friendly way to dispose of medications in your household trash.
Proper disposal saves lives and protects the environment.
STEVE’S LAW
Some overdose deaths could have been prevented if the people they were using with would have called 911. Fear of arrest often keeps people from calling for help. The Good Samaritan Law protects people who intervene in a crisis situation. In Minnesota, a law was passed called Steve’s Law to protect individuals who call 911 for an overdose.
With Steve’s Law, both the individual experiencing a drug overdose and the person seeking medical assistance have limited immunity from charges related to use and possession of drugs and paraphernalia. Steve’s Law also helps prevent overdoses by giving access to the opioid overdose reversal medication called Naloxone. It allows the public and first responders to carry and administer this medication
If you or a loved one is struggling with Opioid use, Essentia Health can help. Essentia Health’s team provides compassionate and personalized care for people using opioids. Call the Essentia Health 24/7 Substance Use Disorder Referral Line at 8330677-12-62 or visit EssentiaHealth.org/SubstanceUseDisorder to learn more.
To watch the full series, go to Lakestv3.com
This project was supported by Grant No. 2017-AR-BX-K003 awarded to the Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR) by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Office for Victims of Crime, and the SMART Office. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of IIR or of the U.S Department of Justice.
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