Ohio will become one of the first to implement a statewide program for permanent prescription drug disposal by distributing 75 drop-off boxes to eligible law enforcement agencies, which officials call the next step in combating the “epidemic” of prescription pill abuse and misuse.

The Ohio Prescription Drug Drop Box Program, announced earlier this month by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, the Ohio Department of Health and the Drug Free Action Alliance with a budget of $65,980 contributed by the three agencies, also will provide three incinerators following an application process.

The boxes, which the law enforcement agencies will receive at no cost, will be bolted to the floor in permanent locations for drug collection and disposal by trained staff, officials said.

The program follows a series of national take-back days organized by the Drug Enforcement Agency that has collected more than 1.5 million pounds of medication in four events since the program began in September 2010. Officials say the demand displayed by those take-back days underlines the need to dispose of medications that have expired, been left behind by a deceased relative or are otherwise no longer needed.

The permanent sites, they say, will limit the availability of prescription pills in the home, which is where many misusers or abusers acquire their pills.

“To me, it’s the future, it’s the only way to do this,” said John Burke, commander of the Warren County Drug Task Force and president of the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators, the group from which Ohio will buy its 75 boxes.

“The take-back days we’ve done, they’re fine, we’re not opposed to them, but they only occur once a year or twice a year. What do you do if a loved one dies two days after a drop-off day?”

Authorities in Oklahoma, which established a statewide program of permanent drug drop-off boxes last year, said their program has been successful in providing a disposal option while raising awareness to the issue. The 125 boxes spread throughout Oklahoma have taken in about 10 tons of medication in a year.

“The bottom line is that medicine cabinets are a source of supply,” said Melton Edminsten, chief agent of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, which administers the state’s program. “It can unknowingly supply family members, guests or even burglars. That’s why we need to get rid of what we don’t need.”

Permanent sites in use

Some communities already have acquired permanent drug drop-off boxes. The NADDI lists the Miamisburg Police Department, Clark County Sheriff’s office, Butler County Sheriff’s office, Warren County Sheriff’s office and Springfield Police Division as agencies that have acquired their boxes, which resemble mailboxes.

Springfield and Clark County paired to begin their program about eight months ago with help from Cole’s Warriors, a program founded in the memory of Cole Smoot, a Tecumseh High School sophomore who died in February 2011 after misusing a prescription drug. Andy Wilson, the Clark County prosecutor, used $1,157 in seized funds to purchase three boxes. One was placed permanently in the Springfield Police Division lobby and two were set up for limited hours at Clark County Sheriff’s offices.

“We found that if you have limited hours, it just doesn’t work,” Wilson said. “It has to be somewhere 24/7.”

Springfield officials said the permanent box in the police lobby has been effective in collecting medication. From Feb. 24 until July 13, 205 pounds of medications were deposited in that box.

Like all permanent boxes, including one in the Warren County jail lobby, the unit in the Springfield police lobby is bolted to the floor in sight of both security cameras and an officer on duty. Springfield police Sgt. Barry Eggers said the challenges include keeping residents informed that the box exists and ensuring that they understand what can be deposited. He receives syringes, creams and over-the-counter drugs, which are substances not meant for disposal in that box.

However, Eggers said, there has been plenty of demand.

“I have to empty it at least once a week,” he said. “If I don’t, it overflows.”

Installing a program

Officials cite numerous statistics while discussing the importance of disposing of unwanted drugs. In Ohio, more than 692 million pain pills were distributed in retail pharmacies in 2010, and two-thirds of those who received medication had some left over, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

Numbers like those spurred the national drug drop-off days, which last April collected 2,341 pounds of medication in Butler, Champaign, Clark, Greene, Miami, Montgomery and Warren counties. Law enforcement agencies in Butler, Greene, Montgomery and Warren counties are among those eligible to apply for permanent boxes in the Ohio program.

In Oklahoma, the state Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs recognized the need for more opportunities and partnered with Covanta Energy, a company that uses waste disposal to create green energy, to establish the 125 permanent boxes throughout the state. The bureau’s agents are responsible for collecting the disposed drugs and transporting them to Covanta for incineration, officials said.

“It’s a big part in making people aware of pharmaceutical abuse,” Edminsten said. “They just need to know it’s available.”

The funds in Ohio will be used to purchase 75 boxes and three incinerators. Agencies must separately apply to host an incinerator site, and the awarded agencies will be trained for disposal, the attorney general’s office said. The application deadline is Aug. 6, and the chosen agencies should be announced by the end of August.

Of the funds for the Ohio program, $9,450 has been reserved by the attorney general’s office for future purchase of boxes or incinerators, depending on demand.

“The only limitation is law enforcement is the one authority to collect this,” Burke said. “We can’t take it to a pharmacy, we can’t take it to a hospital, we can’t take it to Little Sisters of the Poor. But we hope to see wide distribution.”