PORT ANGELES — There are many simple things that people can do to help prevent prescription drug abuse, the Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce was told Monday.
Clallam County Sheriff Bill Benedict and Dr. Ron Bergman of the Lower Elwha Klallam Clinic, speaking to about 50 people at the chamber’s weekly luncheon, said that as doctors and patients grapple with how much medicine is right for pain management, others take advantage of the available narcotics.
“One thing people could do is lock up their medicines,” Benedict said.
Prescriptions — particularly opioids — are prime targets of children or visitors peeking in medicine cabinets or drawers, Benedict said.
“If you notice that your amount [of pills is] going down faster than normal — you have to suspect,” Bergman said.
Bergman added that the same thing was applicable to household products that can be inhaled, such as paint thinner.
Benedict cited the death of Port Angeles 13-year-old Lillian Star Taylor, who died after taking too many methadone pills at a campground this year.
“They become accustomed to taking more and more of these to obtain a high — but methadone depresses respiration, so then they literally cannot breathe,” he said.
Benedict said that while statewide usage of methamphetamine is down significantly, law enforcement officers throughout the state believe that abusers are switching to prescription drugs.
He didn’t have specific statistics on either.
“Statistics are really hard on this sort of thing,” he said.
Bergman said children and grandchildren are just a couple of the people those with narcotic prescriptions should worry about.
“If you have a lot of traffic through your home, you should lock up these prescriptions,” he said.
‘Lock up prescriptions’
Adequate disposal of unused medications is important, Benedict said.
“Whether you have children or not, go home and clean out your medicine cabinets,” Benedict said.
“I don’t really understand it, but it is true — it is a popular thing to take all sorts of prescription drugs, not just the painkillers.”
Benedict said parties where pills are thrown in a bag and handsful are taken are another popular trend seen among young people.
“This is very dangerous,” he said.
“When you take alcohol plus marijuana plus prescription drugs and then you add in driving.
“It could be deadly.”
Benedict said not to throw unused prescription pills in the trash or toilet because they could contaminate the water table.
Instead Jim’s Pharmacy, 424 E. Second St., Port Angeles, accepts prescriptions for disposal — except for narcotics. Those must be held until the few times a year that the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office holds its drug-takeback program.
“Our takeback program started about a year and a half ago, and we have recycled almost two tons of drugs,” he said, adding that figure includes packaging.
Bergman said parents should be aware of signs of possible abuse of drugs or alcohol in their children.
Those include sliding classroom grades, increase or decrease in energy, sleeping more or less than usual or changes in attitude.
“A lot of the time, there is a point where children want to be found out, and if you have a serious conversation with them, sometimes they will tell you what they are wrestling with,” he said.
He said once it is in the open, parents can reach out to schools and other organizations for support.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladaily news.com.