(Collection boxes at the Admiral Way Viewpoint dropoff station)
Story and photos by Katie Meyer
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Two West Seattle drop-off locations were part of National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day today, a chance to get unused/unneeded/expired drugs out of your home for safe disposal, no questions asked.

First up, the Admiral Way Viewpoint, where Washington Poison Center staffer Jan Binks said that, pending final numbers, it appears that they were collecting more unused prescriptions than last year. Staff from the Seattle field division of the Drug Enforcement Agency were on hand to collect the bottles, bags and blister packs from the steady stream of cars that rolled through the ‘drive-through’ station. Also on hand, Mr. Yuk:

Drivers honked and waved at the mascot as they drove by, and goggled at the bright blue HumVee from the Drug Enforcement Agency – a vehicle formerly owned by a drug dealer who saw it seized before he “went away for a loooong time.”

DEA Agent in Charge Mark Thomas spoke about these collections as part of a multi-pronged public safety initiative – with a reported 70% of prescription drug abusers getting the drugs from home medicine cabinets, removing unused medications from the home removes access for abuse (and accidents involving children) as well as the potential for distribution. In coordination with audits, license and operating inspections of pharmacies, and education, Agent Thomas says these collections from the public are a simple solution to the problem. The collected drugs will be incinerated by the DEA.

As parents stopped by for Mr. Yuk stickers for their kids, Binks (with Mr. Yuk, below) mentioned that the #1 cause of accidental death is from prescription drugs; as a stand-alone agency, the Center is partly funded by the Federal government, but also by donations -and they’re facing Federal budget cuts this year. With their database and phone support system, they’re the experts to call-“We can tell you what to do, and help get it out of your system.”

Studies have shown that for every dollar the state spends on the Poison Center, each call to the Poison Center saves the state a (conservative estimate of) $7/call – helping save citizens trips to the emergency room and doctors’ offices. The Center can tell you if what you’ve taken is unsafe with other medications; advise panicked parents on the steps to take based on what substance has been ingested by children and counsels the elderly if they’ve taken their spouse’s pills by mistake. Their phone staff will also notify hospitals of vital details when a caller does need to visit the ER, and does follow up through the entire process.

Second stop: The Southwest Precinct, where Patrol Officer Frank Osinksi saw several people come by in the early going today to drop unused prescription medications into the collection boxes in the lobby:

He notes people have been interested in seeing these collections take place a couple times a year – everyone from parents of small children and teens, to hospice workers who find themselves with unused medications to dispose of, had been stopping in.

We’re working to get a final total on how much was collected at the two West Seattle dropoff points, and will add that information to this story whenever we get it. Meantime, until the next event, there are some year-round dropoff points – one of them is the Bartell Drugs store in Burien; information on the program here, and the location here.