Intermountain Press Release

American Fork, Utah—Emergency room visits involving abuse of prescription or over-the-counter drugs across the U.S. increased 21 percent from 2004 to 2005. Also, for the first time, there are just as many new abusers (12 and older) of prescription drugs as there are for marijuana, according to national statistics.

Intermountain Healthcare's North County Community Outreach Council and American Fork Hospital have teamed up to encourage all residents of north Utah County to "Clean Out Your Cabinet" of all old, unused prescription and non-prescription drugs. "We are keenly aware of the drug problem in our surrounding communities. The 'Clean Out Your Cabinet' campaign is the first step of several to effectively address the problem," said American Fork City Mayor Heber Thompson.

Intermountain's North County Community Outreach Council is made up of community members and leaders representing local businesses, educators, churches, and government (including Mayor Thompson and five other mayors from Lindon north).

A recent study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that Utah lead the nation in 2004 and 2005 with 6.5 percent of the population using drugs without a doctor's order. This nonmedical use of prescription drugs shows a troubling trend. Prescription drugs, particularly those such as narcotic painkillers, are increasingly becoming targets of home invasions by individuals interested in using or distributing these types of drugs. This misuse can be destructive to the peace and safety of all residents in the community.

Most of these drugs are older, unused prescriptions which are left in cabinets and cupboards in the home. The goal of "Clean Out Your Cabinet" is to encourage all residents of North Utah County to take action to stop this dangerous practice in the community by disposing of old medications.

Spring is a great time to clean out your cabinet of older medications (e.g., Lortab, Percodan, Percocet, and Oxycontin, etc.). Add it to your list of things to do during your spring cleaning. To dispose of old drugs, first contact your local pharmacy to see if it participates in a drug disposal program, and ask if you can return any unused drugs there for disposal. The traditional method for disposing of unused drugs has been to flush them down the toilet. This should only be done if the accompanying patient information states it is safe to do so. For more information on drug disposal, please refer to the Office of National Drug Control Policy's Federal Government Guidelines for Disposal of Prescription Drugs.