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! ' � • i ' • " • ' � <br /> Prescription drug abuse is the fastest growing drug problem in the United States and in <br /> Minnesota. <br /> Prescription painkillers can be helpful and beneficial for treating pain when properly prescribed <br /> by a licensed professional, used as prescribed, and stored and disposed of safely. But they are <br /> highly addictive and susceptible to misuse and abuse. If used, stored, or disposed of unsafely, <br /> they can be dangerous and sometimes deadly. <br /> Opioids have killed more than 2,700 Minnesotans in the last 15 years. More than 80% of these <br /> deaths involved prescription drugs, and nearly 60% have occurred in the past 5 years. <br /> Overdose deaths from opioids are increasing at an alarming rate. We are losing too many <br /> Minnesotans to painkillers, heroin, and other opioids. Nationally, every 25 minutes, a baby is <br /> born suffering from opioid withdrawal. Every day, more than 1,000 people receive emergency- <br /> room treatment for misused prescription opioids. Every year, prescription-opioid abuse costs <br /> about $25.6 billion in lost workplace productivity. <br /> Prescription drug abuse also can lead to the use of other "street drugs."About 80% of heroin <br /> users previously abused prescription painkillers.Another opioid, called fentanyl, is 50-100 times <br /> more powerful than morphine and has caused overdose deaths in Minnesota. <br /> The opioid crisis involves many stakeholders: people struggling with addiction and their friends <br /> and families, health care providers, pharmacists, insurers and third-party payers, employers, <br /> professional-licensing boards, law enforcement, and the criminal justice system. <br /> In addition, improper disposal of unused prescription medications can lead to contamination of <br /> the watershed which presents a risk to both aquatic life and the general public. <br /> To help combat these issues, the Pequot Lakes Police Department continues to participate in a <br /> state-wide medication collection program called Dose of Reality. We have a secure medication <br /> disposal box located in the lobby of the police department that the public can use to dispose of <br /> their unused medications. The medications deposited in the box are packaged, weighed, and <br /> transported to an approved disposal site. <br /> The Pequot Lakes Police Department collection site became operational in October of 2015. We <br /> collected just under 40 pounds of inedications through the end of 2017. <br /> � ' <br /> � <br /> "� � PREVENT PRESCRIPTqN PAINKILIER ABt15E IN MINNESOU <br /> Page � 11 <br />