Due to a lack of support from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Haines Borough Police Department has canceled its participation in the popular National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.
In 2013, the borough advertised the event, held nationally on Sept. 26, and collected more than 40 pounds of pills, patches and miscellaneous medicine during a day-long roundup. It also participated in 2014, though it collected significantly fewer drugs.
The goal of the program is to dispose of the drugs safely and rid communities of unused medication that might otherwise be abused or sold illegally. Instead of being disposed of, though, the collected drugs remained at the police station, taking up space, interim police chief Robert Griffiths said.
The DEA sponsored the event and pushed it as a public relations campaign, Griffiths said, but did not back it up with any support in collecting or disposing of the medications.
“Handling prescription medications presents significant risk and liability. Haines’ attempts to get assistance from the DEA have not been productive,” he said. “I’ve determined that with the reduced manpower and lack of support from the DEA, it is no longer feasible for us to continue the practice.”
Griffiths said he believes this problem with the DEA is likely due to staffing and funding challenges, and it’s affecting rural Alaskan communities more than the larger towns nationwide that participate in the program.
To get rid of the medications that built up over the years, Griffiths and Sgt. Josh Dryden recently held a “drug smoking party,” where they burned four large boxes of drugs in a controlled, safe manner. It took them eight hours each to dispose of all the material.
“I am very happy that in the large communities, this program works and is available, but in our community we are going to have to ask local residents to dispose of their own expired or unused medications in the safest manner they can, with the resources they have available to them,” Griffiths said.
Many drugs cannot be flushed down the sink or toilet because they pollute the water system. According to the Food and Drug Administration, many medicines can be disposed of in the trash by putting them in a sealed plastic bag filled with dirt, cat litter or used coffee grounds.
According to AwareRx, the closest drug disposal point to Haines is the Juneau Police Department.