Prescription Drug Take Back Event is a Sucess!

The following letter, written by DEA Special Agent Lisa Remick, explains the success of

The 2nd National Prescription Drug Take Back was even more successful than the first.  New Hampshire had 92 sites and we collected 4,020 pounds of prescription drugs.  This was a 60% increase from last fall when we collected 2,479 pounds at 50 sites.
 
The success of this program is a testament to the cooperation and collaboration that exists in our state.  There were so many partners that stepped up to the plate and supported this program in New Hampshire; from picking up the boxes and supplies and delivering them to the collection sites, contacting the media, visiting senior centers and spreading the word, distributing the pamphlets and posters, to manning the sites on Saturday.
 
The teamwork on this initiative was unprecedented and is just another example of what makes New Hampshire an exceptional state to live in.
 
DEA will be coordinating another Prescription Take Back in October and one last one possibly in the Spring of 2012, before it is anticipated that a more permanent program will be in place.  We anticipate that the October Take Back will be similar to this one.  We would appreciate hearing from you of any problems/suggestions/issues or comments that you have concerning this program as we would like to improve the program if need be.
 
I feel confident in saying that we have made a difference in New Hampshire with this program.
 
On behalf of the DEA, I would like to thank all of our partners involved in this event.  It is because of all of you that this program was such a success.

Between the two Take Back Events held by the DEA (1st-September 25th, 2010 and, 2nd-April 30th, 2011), over 309 tons of unwanted and unneeded prescriptions have been collected and disposed of nationally!

To read more about the success nationally, please visit:

http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/pressrel/pr050611.html 

 New England Collection Information:

Know! is a partnership empowering parents to raise their children to be substance-free. With monthly tips and the latest research, Know! reaches parents of children ages 11-13 to accomplish the following:

• Increase parental awareness that their children are at risk.
• Reinforce parents with the knowledge that their actions make a difference.
• Enhance and increase communication between parents and their children about substance use.
• Empower parents with simple, effective parenting strategies proven to prevent substance use.

Know! is a collaborative effort of Drug-Free Action Alliance and The United Way of Central Ohio. Know! is proud to report a continuously growing number of parents, prevention agencies, community leaders, coalitions, businesses and educators who share the goal of preventing and reducing the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.

To view the parent tip archive, please visit:

http://www.helpthemknow.com/know/cms/parent-tip-archive.html

House Bill 71 regarding Prescription Drug Take Back Events Signed on May 16th, 2011

Due to the major success of the first ever DEA National Prescription Drug Take Back event on September 25^th, 2010 where New Hampshire collected over a ton of unwanted and unneeded prescription medications, House Bill 71 (HB 71) regarding prescription drug take back programs was proposed in December 2010. The bill was passed and signed on May 16^th, 2011 by Governor Lynch and is effective as of July 1, 2011.

The legislation allows for volunteers to host prescription drug take back events in their communities as long as they have a law enforcement officer present to collect, store, and dispose of the medication. The program can be supported with public or private grants and/or donations. A fee can also be charged for those dropping off their medication as a means to support the program.

The medication that can be collected can be either prescription or over the counter. For prescription medications, it has to be legally prescribed to someone or someone else can drop it off for the person the medication was prescribed for.

The drop-off is completely anonymous-the person dropping off their unwanted or unneeded medication does not have to show a form of ID or divulge any personal information when dropping off the medication.

The more medication we can get off of the street, the less opportunity youth and other adults have to access these potentially abusable drugs.

To read the full text of the bill, please visit:

http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2011/HB0071.html  

Coalition in West Virgina works to clear the

Smokey Air at their State Fair

 PhotoVoice Project by the White Mountains Regional High School Prevention Youth Council has assessed the Coos County Fair and is working with the Lancaster Fair Board to clear the air for fair go'ers.

Visitors to the nine-day State Fair of West Virginia can now breathe a little easier this summer thanks to the efforts of a CADCA Alliance in West Virginia who obtained designated outdoor smoking areas throughout the fairgrounds.

Greg Puckett, Executive Director of the Community Connections state-wide coalition, and CADCA Coalition Advisory Committee member, said the change is all about the power of community mobilization and cultivating relationships with the fairgrounds staff and board.

For the past two years, the coalition has staffed an interactive, educational booth with the West Virginia Blazers professional basketball team promoting a quit line.

Knowing that West Virginia's inhaled and chewed tobacco use rates are high (24 percent) and that tobacco is, therefore, "ingrained" in their culture, Puckett says the coalition advocating for designated smoking areas is not a public health defeat.

"We are not making it a punitive thing," Puckett said. "It's about respect for each other."

The coalition says having the nine smoking areas scattered throughout the fairgrounds will not only make the fair more pleasant for non-smokers who don't want to breath second-hand smoke, but it will reduce litter.

Marlene Pierson-Jolliffe, Manager of the State Fair of West Virginia, said after Puckett and his coalition introduced the idea to her last year; she researched how other venues like hers handled smoking areas.

For the past decade, all indoor areas during the annual state fair have been smoke-free since hay and other materials are highly flammable, she said.

"We liked the designated smoking area idea because we're not trying to go 100 percent smoke free yet-we think it would be very difficult," Pierson-Jolliffe said. "This is a good compromise."

Puckett and fairgrounds staff hopes that this move will encourage the other 200 events held at the fairgrounds and at outdoor venues throughout the state to limit smoking. Puckett would like to see smoking eliminated altogether.

People come to the fair for the livestock, amusement rides, entertainment, and, of course, the gluttonous food. They don't come to be exposed to smoke, Pierson-Jolliffe said. She hopes that patrons who smoke continue to attend the state fair despite the policy change.

"The deep-fried doughnut you eat goes into your arteries, but the cigarette smoke affects the person who is standing behind you or adjacent to you," Pierson-Jolliffe said.

The fairgrounds staff will display signage and start promoting the new policy in the summer before the mid-August fair.

"I'm very proud that we're doing this; I also know we're better off messaging it closer to the event," Pierson-Jolliffe said.

There are also 125 county fairs and festivals throughout West Virginia and both Pierson-Jolliffe and Puckett hope their idea spreads.

"This is a huge step forward in our state and was made possible through the partnerships we've been able to work with," Puckett said.

Despite increased adoption of state and local smoke-free laws, approximately 88 million nonsmoking Americans aged 3 and older are still exposed to secondhand smoke each year.

The West Virginia state fair smoking policy comes at a time when a

report released this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

states that the nation is half-way there when it comes to banning indoor smoking in public places.

25 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws banning comprehensive smoking in workplaces, restaurants and bars during the past 10 years. By 2020 or sooner, the entire nation could have laws banning smoking in all indoor areas of private sector worksites, restaurants and bars. In addition to listing the states with comprehensive and less-restrictive smoke-free laws and years they went into effect, the study details the seven states that have no statewide smoking restrictions in place for private worksites, restaurants or bars with West Virginia being one of them.

This article was adopted from the CADCA Resources and Research archive:

http://www.cadca.org/resources/detail/west-virginian-coalition-helps-designate-smoking-areas-state-fair