TITLE
Recommendation to request City Manager to direct the Long Beach Health and Human Services Department, in partnership with the Police Department and other applicable departments, to create a citywide prescription drug stewardship program.
DISCUSSION
Currently, Long Beach has no standing program that allows for the disposal of unwanted or unused prescription drugs and personal-use medical sharps, and only participates in the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) biannual Drug Take-Back Days, with the April 2014 event yielding over 470 pounds of unwanted pharmaceuticals. By establishing such a prescription drug stewardship program, the City would provide residents with a safe and anonymous opportunity to surrender unused or expired prescriptions and controlled substances.
According to the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD), prescription drug abuse in the United States is increasing at alarming rates, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to their availability. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from home medicine cabinets.
In addition, many Americans do not know how to properly dispose of their unused medications, which often creates additional health, environmental, and safety hazards. The practice offlushing medicines down the drain can create an environmental hazard for aquatic wildlife as wastewater treatment plants cannot test or treat for pharmaceuticals, leaving these substances to end up in rivers, streams, lakes, groundwater systems, and oceans.
Permanent collection programs have seen widespread success in other locales and could serve as a possible template for Long Beach. For instance, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) collected over 20,000 pounds of prescription medication and nearly 12,000 pounds of used medical sharps in 2012. The department has seen an increase in the amount collected every year since the program began...
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