Prescription Drug Abuse

We have witnessed a serious and dramatic increase in the use and abuse of pharmaceutical drugs in Utah.  Fortunately, in partnership and coordination with the U.S. Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the many valiant State of Utah law enforcement and health care professionals, we recently formed the “Utah Pharmaceutical Drug Crime Project” (UPDCP), pairing local police with federal agents as well as Utah State health professionals, to increase awareness and reduce prescription drug abuse.

UPDCP

To combat such a wide-reaching problem many agencies have come together in an unprecedented fashion. The UPDCP committee includes the DEA, the Salt Lake City Police Department, Utah Department of Public Safety and other law enforcement groups, the Utah Department of Human Services, the FBI and the Utah Attorney General's Office, as well as doctors and medical professionals who see the issue firsthand.

The task force's goals are:

  1. Reduce the availability of prescription drugs for abuse
  2. Increase the perception of risk associated with prescription drugs
  3. Make the public less tolerant of using pharmaceutical drugs for non-medical uses

We aim to do this through

  1. Education, especially to children
  2. Vigorous prosecution of abusers, like unethical and immoral doctors and pharmacists who distribute the drugs illegally
  3. Training medical professionals on how to deal with people who might be addicted
  4. Passing new laws to make proper disposal easier

In Utah, as throughout the nation, we have witnessed, the alarming growth of prescription drug abuse and seen its treacherous impact on our youth and in our communities.  We know that in our state in 2007, 317 people died as a result of prescription overdoses — nearly twice as many deaths as occurred due to overdoses from the traditionally feared illicit drugs.

Disposal

The disposal of unused and unwanted pharmaceuticals is an emerging and complex environmental issue linked to serious health problems.  Current regulations prohibit common-sense medication disposal leading to an excess amount of prescribed medicines left unsecured and accessible to youth.  This growing epidemic of readily accessible drugs to our youth is causing a rapid growth in prescription drug abuse as well as the peddling of these drugs on the street. 

We are working closely with our state and local government leaders as well as industry to not only promote and forge a private - public government partnership, but also coordinate directly with the DEA and our team of experts toward enforcement of the law and improved regulations that deal with pharmaceutical drug disposal.

In addition, in Utah, we are studying the effectiveness and viability of a State sponsored, and DEA approved, drug take-back program as an available option for the disposal of unwanted controlled substances.  DEA defines take-back programs as “organized collection events designed to reduce the amount of unwanted or unused pharmaceuticals that may pose a risk to public health and safety, may be accessible to diversion, or that otherwise may be disposed of in a manner that does not comply with State or Federal laws or regulations.” 

For more important information about proper prescription drug disposal please visit: www.medicationdisposal.utah.gov