Safely dispose of unwanted medications on Saturday

From the Seattle Police Department:



On Saturday, April 30 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the Seattle Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will give the public its 11th opportunity in six years to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. Bring your pills for disposal to any of the city’s five precincts. You can find the drop-off site in your neighborhood by visiting our precinct map.    The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

Last September, Americans turned in 350 tons (over 702,000 pounds) of prescription drugs at more than 5,000 sites operated by the DEA and more than 3,800 of its state and local law enforcement partners. Overall, in its 10 previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners have taken in over 5.5 million pounds—more than 2,750 tons—of pills.

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.  Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards.

Marijuana brownies sold to North Seattle teens

According to the Seattle Police Department, earlier this month they received complaints about middle school and high school students buying marijuana and marijuana-laced brownies from a residence in the Ballard neighborhood.  Detectives observed school-aged children from Ballard High School and Whitman Middle School going to the back door of the suspect residence and buying marijuana. 

On the morning of April 24th Seattle Police served a search warrant on the suspect residence.  Five adults were inside and were detained and interviewed by detectives.  The primary suspect, a 50-year-old male, was arrested at his place of employment.

Marijuana cigarettes, brownies, and multiple bags of marijuana were found in several rooms inside the residence.  Seven trays of marijuana brownies were found in the basement along with a marijuana grow operation.  

I-502, medical marijuana, and youth access 

Though the possession of small amounts of marijuana is now legal for adults in our state, it is not legal for people under the age of 21. 

While it is illegal for minors to possess marijuana for recreational use, minors may possess marijuana for medicinal use if they have an authorization.   

It is unknown if the people arrested for allegedly selling pot brownies to children have medical marijuana authorizations.  While it is illegal for any of them to sell marijuana to minors, it would not be illegal for them to grow 15 marijuana plants each and possess 24 ounces of marijuana each if they have medical authorizations.

Easy access to marijuana among adults means easy access to marijuana among youth.  While children were apparently buying marijuana from the adults arrested in this situation, most children who use marijuana do not get it by directly purchasing it.  Like alcohol, most youth who use marijuana obtain it socially.  It only takes a few kids buying marijuana from an adult or from a dispensary if they have a medical authorization to supply their friends with it.   

NE Seattle crime related to marijuana 

Recently, several home invasions have involved marijuana grow operations in homes.  Right here in NE Seattle earlier this month, a home in View Ridge was robbed and the victims were held at gun point while the suspects took marijuana plants, weapons, cash, and a victim’s car.

Initiative 502 set the stage for a legal marijuana marketplace but work to keep our children drug-free and our community’s safe remains and likely will require more vigilance.  

May 9 Update:  KIRO-TV reports that parents complained for a year about the man selling marijuana brownies to children.

Seattle Police collect 697 pounds of unwanted medications

Saturday was National Drug Take Back Day and people dropped off expired, unwanted or unused prescription medications at the five Seattle Police Department precincts.  According to Seattle Police, a total of 697.15 pounds of unwanted medications were dropped off.  Here is the precinct break-down:

-- North Precinct-176.50 pounds
-- West Precinct-170.70 pounds
-- South Precinct-43.55 pounds
-- East Precinct-67.95 pounds
-- Southwest Precinct-238.45 pounds

Since Washington State does not have a statewide medicine return program, it is often difficult for people to get rid of unused medications in an environmentally safe way.  With youth prescription drug abuse on the rise in Washington State, getting rid of unused medicines is one prevention tool for families.

Saturday's event was was another great success and there will be another one again in the fall.  In the meantime, learn more about establishing a permanent statewide medicine return program at the Take Back Your Meds website.

Get rid of unused medications at police precincts on Saturday

From the Seattle Police Department:

On April 28 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm the Seattle Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will give the public another opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs.  Bring your medications for disposal to any one of the five Seattle Police Department precincts. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

Last October, Americans turned in 377,080 pounds – 188.5 tons- of prescription drugs at over 5,300 sites operated by the DEA and nearly 4,000 state and local law enforcement partners.  In its three previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners took in almost a million pounds- nearly 500 tons- of pills.

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue.  Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse.  Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the numbers of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.  Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.  In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines-flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash-both pose potential safety and health hazards.

Four days after the first event, Congress passed the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, which amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow an “ultimate user” of controlled substance medications to dispose of them by delivering them to entities authorized by the Attorney General to accept them.  The Act also allows the Attorney General to authorize long term care facilities to dispose of their residents’ controlled substances in certain instances.  DEA is drafting regulations to implement the Act, a process that can take as long as 24 months.  Until new regulations are in place, local law enforcement agencies like the Seattle Police Department and the DEA will continue to hold prescription drug take-back events every few months.

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day October 29

Law enforcement, public health, and environmental professionals stand united in support of medication take-back programs, such as the DEA’s take-back event on Saturday, October 29, as the safest and most responsible way to dispose of old and leftover medicines.  Take-back programs are one way to prevent youth prescription drug abuse.

In our community, the North Precinct will be collecting unused medications on October 29, 10:00 a.m to 2:00 p.m. as part of the DEA's national take-back day.  Other Seattle Police precincts are also participating.  In addition to these one-day drop-off sites, local Bartell Drugs and Group Health sites take back medicines all of the time.


In Washington State, the Take Back Your Meds Coalition is advocating for a permanent, state-wide take-back program.  Drug manufacturers are in a unique position to take responsibility and pay for take-back programs as a cost of doing business, just as they already do in other countries. For a couple of pennies per prescription or bottle of cold pills, drug companies could finance and provide a safe ongoing medicine take-back system for our state.

In Olympia, big PHARMA has worked hard to dodge taking responsibility. Sadly, pressure from PHARMA stalled action in the WA Legislature last year. Luckily, this year our representatives again have a chance to pass a bill to create a state wide medicine take-back system by requiring companies selling medicines in the state to provide the program as part of doing business.

SPD: 286 pounds of prescription drugs dropped off at precincts during one-day event

From the Seattle Police Department:

A big "thank you" to all the citizens who participated in National Drug Take Back Day and rid their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs.

Citizens dropped off 286.12 pounds of prescription drugs at the five Seattle Police drop-off points! The precinct totals are as follows:

• North Precinct 54.55 pounds
• East Precinct 37.35 pounds
• West Precinct 19.45 pounds
• South Precinct 94.29 pounds
• Southwest Precinct 80.50 pounds

Thank you to all Prevention WINS coalition members who helped publicize this event!

The Take Back Your Meds campaign is working locally to institute a permanent medicine return program.  Learn more at their website.

Forum on youth and police relations

On January 12 at the Garfield Teen Life Center, local youth, in partnership with Seattle Parks and Recreation, Seattle Police Department, Students Against Violence Everywhere, and the Seattle Youth Commission, will host "Building Bridges", a forum to discuss youth and police relations. The event will include a panel of officers, community members and teenagers and breakout sessions to enable all to share and listen to each others' concerns.

More information is available at the SAVE Seattle website.

Easy access

According to 2008 Healthy Youth Survey data, 65% of NE Seattle high school seniors report that it is easy to obtain alcohol if they want it. (Thanks to RUaD -- the state coalition to Reduce Underage Drinking -- for the beautiful charts!)

A few months ago, the Seattle Police Department and members of the Prevention WINS coalition in NE Seattle asked the Liquor Control Board to not renew the liquor license of SP Mart. Since the mini-mart has a long history of selling to minors, no matter who owns it, the police also requested that the license be removed from the site.

The store continues to be a place where minors attempt to purchase alcohol, often successfully. Early last month, a Liquor Control Board officer caught a minor in possession of alcohol outside of the store. The minor had requested an adult purchase alcohol for him or her and was successful. Though SP Mart did not receive a citation this time, the incident shows that minors still feel comfortable trying to buy alcohol there.

Surmising that teenagers are likely to try to obtain alcohol elsewhere in our community, Liquor Control Board officers are monitoring other stores in the Wedgwood area for sales to minors.

Reducing teenager's access to alcohol is one of several prevention strategies happening in our community. One strategy alone isn't going to reduce our high underage drinking rates. However, as a community, if we all work together and implement effective prevention strategies throughout NE Seattle, we will make a difference.

Update: SP Mart liquor license

On April 15 I blogged about the Seattle Police Department's (SPD) letter to the Liquor Control Board (LCB) requesting that the liquor license not be renewed for SP Mart, a mini-mart a few blocks west of Eckstein Middle School.

Since then, the owner of SP Mart has tried to sell the business and the SPD sent another letter to the LCB asking that the liquor license be removed from the site of the store, not just the owner. SP Mart has been owned by different people over the past few years and each one of them has sold alcohol to minors. Teenagers know that they can buy alcohol at the store, regardless of who owns it. Reading SPD's second letter makes that readily apparent.

Reducing minor's access to alcohol plays an important role in reducing underage drinking rates in northeast Seattle. Especially since it is part of community-wide prevention activities being implemented by the coalition.

SPD requests liquor license not be renewed

A recent letter to the Washington State Liquor Control Board from the Seattle Police Department asks that the liquor license for SP Mart not be renewed. SP Mart is located just five blocks from Eckstein Middle School, the recipient of a prevention grant from the Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse because of high underage drinking rates in northeast Seattle.

Over the past few years, SP Mart has been caught selling alcohol to minors multiple times by both Seattle Police and the Liquor Control Board. Earlier today, I was told that they were caught selling to minors again last Friday, despite being notified that their liquor license is in jeopardy.

On February 6, I blogged about a study that shows that drinking rates are higher among 12 - 17 year-olds who live within a half-mile of an alcohol outlet and those teenagers are more likely to binge drink and engage in drunk driving. Reducing the access minors have to alcohol in our community is an important part of the multiple prevention strategies our coalition is implementing.