By this Friday, residents of Cass County will have several more places to regularly dispose of unused prescription medicine.

Because of a project led by the C.A.S.S. Community Coalition, four new drug take-back boxes will be placed throughout the county, offering people a closer opportunity to rid others of the temptation to take prescription pills not prescribed for them.

Prescription pills have been growing more and more as the drug of choice throughout the past several decades due to the availability of opiates. Because prescription pills are given to people for medicinal purposes, many believe they are not as harmful as other drugs. However, if put in the wrong hands and mixed with the wrong substances, these pain relievers and mood stabilizers have a wide range of side effects from addiction to brain damage to death.

These often addicting substances are frequently stolen from people who genuinely need the medicines — or at least who needed them at some point, so it only makes sense that the first step in solving the problem is disposing of it safely.

Those in possession of pills not prescribed to them are much more likely to take more than the recommended dosage, increasing risk for deadly overdose and other harmful side effects. Often, drug abusers mix pills with alcohol or other drugs, which can result in similar fates.

Perhaps one of the scariest facts about prescription drug abuse is that young people make up one of the largest groups of abusers. A study performed by the National Institute of Druge Abuse found that 11.4 percent of youth between the ages of 12 and 25 had used pills non-medically in the past year.

When drug abusers start young, they are much more likely to become immune to the effects of their drugs of choice and either increase their dosage or move onto cheaper, more harmful substances like heroin or meth.

Throughout the last several months, the Dowagiac police department reports having dealt with at least two dozen prescription pill-related crimes. When a problem affects that many people, it’s time for officials to find a way to combat the problem, and we appreciate those responsible for bringing more take back boxes to the county.

Now that residents are able to dispose of their unused medications more frequently than during drug take-back days, we ask that they take advantage of the opportunity as quickly as possible and as frequently as necessary.

Local leaders have done their part to provide an outlet for disposing of these harmful substances. It is now our responsibility to do our part in getting these harmful substances out of our homes and off the streets.

 

Opinions expressed are those of the editorial board consisting of Publisher Michael Caldwell and editors Ambrosia Neldon, Craig Haupert, Ted Yoakum and Scott Novak.