08.01 Pequot Lakes Police Department Annual Report

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DRUG DROP OFF PROGRAM Prescription drug abuse is the fastest growing drug problem in the United States and in Minnesota. Prescription painkillers can be helpful and beneficial for treating pain when properly prescribed by a licensed professional, used as prescribed, and stored and disposed of safely. But they are highly addictive and susceptible to misuse and abuse. If used, stored, or disposed of unsafely, they can be dangerous and sometimes deadly. Opioids have killed more than 2,700 Minnesotans in the last 15 years. More than 80% of these deaths involved prescription drugs, and nearly 60% have occurred in the past 5 years. Overdose deaths from opioids are increasing at an alarming rate. We are losing too many Minnesotans to painkillers, heroin, and other opioids. Nationally, every 25 minutes, a baby is born suffering from opioid withdrawal. Every day, more than 1,000 people receive emergency- room treatment for misused prescription opioids. Every year, prescription-opioid abuse costs about $25.6 billion in lost workplace productivity. ' � Prescription drug abuse also can lead to the use � , of other"street drugs."About 80% of heroin � DISPOSE users previously abused prescription painkillers. �� E,�,��.�a.��.- Another opioid, called fentanyl, is 50-100 times "`�"" rh . _ ,- more powerful than morphine and has caused ._ ..�,.,.,.r�.r....., . .,_ . �-� � � overdose deaths in Minnesota. � ,_,_ � �� The opioid crisis involves many stakeholders: ' ' � � people struggling with addiction and their friends �'� _� .==, * �'�F � �, '- .�� : and families, health care providers, pharmacists, � """'"� I� ��" ' �� insurers and third-party payers, employers, " -_= � --�' - professional-licensing boards, law enforcement, - — and the criminal justice system. In addition, improper disposal of unused prescription medications can lead to contamination of the watershed which presents a , . risk to both aquatic life and the general public. . - • • To help combat these issues, the Pequot Lakes � Police Department continues to participate in a state-wide medication collection program called � � Dose of Reality. We have a secure medication disposal box located in the lobby of the police department that the public can use to dispose of their unused medications. The medications deposited in the box are packaged, weighed, and transported to an approved disposal site. The Pequot Lakes Police Department collection site became operational in October of 2015. Our department's drop box is conveniently located on the first floor of city hall and has proved itself be very useful to our citizens. — f 12