Celebrate Red Ribbon Week by removing harmful and potentially abusable medications from your home!

DEA has scheduled another National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, October 29, 2011, from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm. to provide a venue for persons who want to dispose of unwanted and unused prescription drugs.

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day addresses a vital public safety and public health issue.  More than seven million Americans currently abuse prescription drugs, according to the 2009 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's National Survey on Drug Use and Health.  Each day, approximately, 2,500 teens use prescription drugs to get high for the first time according to the Partnership for a Drug Free America.  Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including the home medicine cabinet.

DEA in conjunction with state and local law enforcement agencies throughout the United States conducted National Prescription Drug Take Back Days on Saturday, September 25, 2010 and April 25, 2011.  Nearly, 4,000 state and local law enforcement agencies throughout the nation participated in these events, collecting more than 309 tons of pills.

Four days after last fall's Take-Back Day, Congress passed legislation amending the Controlled Substances Act to allow the DEA to develop a process for people to safely dispose of their prescription drugs.  DEA immediately began developing this process after President Obama signed the Safe and Secure Drug Disposal Act of 2010 on October 12.  Until that process is complete, however, DEA will continue to hold Take Back Days every six months.

• Find a collection site near you. 
• Law enforcement agencies that wish to host a collection site should call the Point of Contact for your area.    

Teen abuse of over-the-counter (OTC) cough and cold medicines is a widespread and serious issue. But as a parent, you may not have any idea how you can help prevent it. Here's a list of hands-on advice for what you should do, starting right now.

• Know which drugs are being abused. If you are not aware of cough and cold medicine abuse, it's time to get informed. The biggest problem is with medicines that contain dextromethorphan (often abbreviated as DXM), which is found in more than 125 over-the-counter medicines sold to treat the symptoms of cough and colds. 
• Learn the slang. Find out what teens are calling these drugs. DXM goes by many names - tussin, skittles, robo, CCC, triple C, dex syrup, and red devils to name a few. If you didn't know the terminology, you could be missing it when your kids are talking about cough medicine abuse in code.
• Look in your medicine cabinet. No parent wants to be a drug supplier for his or her children. Treat your medicine cabinet like your liquor cabinet: track what is in it and how much is used. Just like you did when your child was a baby, it is always advisable to store medications in a place where your kids won't be able to get them.
• Get rid of medicines you don't use. Don't keep them around just in case - many are probably expired anyway. If you're sick and need a cough or combination cold medicine, get only what you need and safely dispose of what's left when you're feeling better.
• Talk to other parents. Share what you know about cough medicine abuse with other parents, particularly the parents of your teen's friends. Coordinate your efforts. If you're cleaning out your medicine cabinet, get the parents of your teen's friends to do the same. By making it a community effort, you'll help keep everyone safer.
• Model good behavior. You may be careless with how you use medication yourself. If your headache is really bad, you may double the recommended dose. If your back goes out, you might borrow a few narcotic painkillers from a friend who had them left over after dental surgery. All medications are serious and have risks when not taken appropriately. What's more, your kids are watching. If you don't treat these medicines with respect - and only use them as recommended - why should you assume your teens will?
• Monitor your child's use of the Internet. Know what your child is looking at on the Internet. There are websites out there that present, in astonishing detail, information about cough medicine abuse with tips on specific dosages and brands.
• Think about your community. Even if your children are too young for drug abuse, what about your nieces and nephews? Or babysitters? By clearing your house of unnecessary medication, you're helping them too.
• Talk to your teen. When parents talk to their children about the risks of drugs, it reduces the risk that they will use drugs by 50%. So don't beat around the bush. Talk to your kids directly about the risks of drug abuse, and mention cough medicine abuse specifically. Just because medicines come from a drugstore or a pharmacist doesn't mean that they cannot be misused. 

Image Source: http://www.seek4media.com/life-culture/12690-bath_salts_new_dangerous_drug_problem.html

The United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is using its emergency scheduling authority to temporarily control three synthetic stimulants (Mephedrone , 3,4 methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) and Methylone).   This action was necessary to protect the public from the imminent hazard posed by these dangerous chemicals. Except as authorized by law, this action will make possessing and selling these chemicals or the products that contain them illegal in the U.S. for at least one year while the DEA and the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) further study whether these chemicals should be permanently controlled. 

A Notice of Intent to temporarily control was published in the Federal Register today to alert the public to this action. This alert is required by law as part of the Controlled Substances Act. In 30 days or more, DEA intends to publish in the Federal Register a Final Order to temporarily control these chemicals for at least 12 months, with the possibility of a six-month extension. The final order will be published in the Federal Register and will designate these chemicals as Schedule I substances, the most restrictive category, which is reserved for unsafe, highly abused substances with no currently accepted medical use in the United States.

"This imminent action by the DEA demonstrates that there is no tolerance for those who manufacture, distribute, or sell these drugs anywhere in the country, and that those who do will be shut down, arrested, and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," said DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart.  "DEA has made it clear we will not hesitate to use our emergency scheduling authority to control these dangerous chemicals that pose a significant and growing threat to our nation." 

Over the past few months, there has been a growing use of, and interest in, synthetic stimulants sold under the guise of "bath salts" or "plant food". Marketed under names such as "Ivory Wave", "Purple Wave", "Vanilla Sky" or "Bliss", these products are comprised of a class of chemicals perceived as mimics of cocaine, LSD, MDMA, and/or methamphetamine. Users have reported impaired perception, reduced motor control, disorientation, extreme paranoia, and violent episodes. The long-term physical and psychological effects of use are unknown but potentially severe. These products have become increasingly popular, particularly among teens and young adults, and are sold at a variety of retail outlets, in head shops and over the Internet.  However, they have not been approved by the FDA for human consumption or for medical use, and there is no oversight of the manufacturing process.

In the last six months, DEA has received an increasing number of reports from poison centers, hospitals and law enforcement regarding products containing one or more of these chemicals.  Thirty-three states have already taken action to control or ban these or other synthetic stimulants.  The Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 amends the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to allow the DEA Administrator to temporarily schedule an abused, harmful, non-medical substance in order to avoid an imminent hazard to public safety while the formal rule-making procedures described in the CSA are being conducted. 

The Northern New England Poison Center is offering recorded webinar presentations regarding the new synthetic drugs known as "bath salts."

The webinar is a slide and audio presentation recorded by Dr. Karen Simone, NNEPC Director, and Dr. Tamas Peredy, NNEPC Medical Director.

The presentation is given in two parts: The first is a general overview of bath salts appropriate for all audiences and the second is aimed at health care professionals and gives information related to treating bath salts patients.

The presentation is available for viewing at any time. It can be accessed through the Northern New England Poison Center website, www.nnepc.org, or directly at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Bath_Salts.

Continuing education credits for Maine and New Hampshire EMS personnel are available. Other types of continuing education credits will potentially be available in the near future.