Van Buren County Sherriff’s Reserve Drug Take Back Day

All of us who are passionate about reducing drug abuse cannot ignore the growing dangers of prescription drug abuse, particularly among teens and young adults. Often abusers are getting prescription drugs from friends and family, particularly from home medicine cabinets that provide easy access, which leads to accidents and the illegal sale of these drugs.

One important step we can take right now is to make sure we safely and securely dispose of unused, unneeded and expired medications.  On Saturday, April 26^th, the Van Buren County Sheriffs Reserve and Van Buren County SAFE Coalition sponsored a National Drug Take-Back Day at the Keosauqua Senior Center.  At the Take-Back Day 34 pounds of prescription medication were collected by the Van Buren Sheriffs Reserve Officers!    

Four days after the first event of this type, Congress passed the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, which amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow an “ultimate user” of controlled substance medications to dispose of them by delivering them to entities authorized by the Attorney General to accept them.  The Act also allows the Attorney General to authorize long term care facilities to dispose of their residents’ controlled substances in certain instances.  DEA is drafting regulations to implement the Act.  Until new regulations are in place, local law enforcement agencies like the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Reserve and the DEA will continue to hold prescription drug take-back events every few months.

You do not have to wait for a Drug Take Back event to dispose of your medication.  Lee Pharmacy in Keosauqua accepts the return of prescription medications (excluding controlled substances) during their regular hours at their pharmacy counter.

If you would like to know more about the Prescription Drug Take Back Days or Prescription Drug Abuse please find additional details at the following link: http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/index.html or contact the SAFE Coalition office at 319-293-6412 or at info@vbsafecoalition.com.

Van Buren Businesses 100% in Alcohol Compliance Checks

The Van Buren SAFE Coalition in conjunction with the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Department and Iowa State Police is pleased to announce that Van Buren County was 100% compliant in alcohol sales compliance checks on March 15, 2014.  Congratulations and thank you to the businesses for their efforts leading to their recent success in passing the alcohol sales compliance checks.  This was a successful day for every business in the county that was checked. 

Underage drinking continues to be a problem for the youth in our community.  Alcohol is the drug of choice for our youth so prevention efforts must come from every part of our community.  The SAFE Coalition continues to work with students, parents, retailers and community members to address the problems associated with underage drinking. 

Alcohol retailers are the first line of defense in stopping the sale of alcohol to young people.  It’s important for everyone to make sure that they are doing their part in preventing the problems associated with underage drinking.

The Van Buren County Sheriff’s Department will regularly use alcohol sales compliance checks in an effort to keep Van Buren County safe by limiting access to alcohol for our youth.  By working together we can make a difference.  Again, we congratulate the businesses on a job well done. 

The following is a list of the businesses that successfully passed the recent compliance check.

Birmingham Jet Stop           Bonaparte Jet Stop              Milton Jet Stop

Moore’s Grocery                   Boyd Grocery                        Bridge Café & Supper Club

Circle B                                  Casey’s General Store        H&K Pony Express

Hel-Mart                                 Tillie’s Tap                             Vet’s Club

American Legion                 T&C Tavern                           Riverbend Pizza & Steakhouse

AJ’s Bar & Grill                     First Street Grille                  Bonaparte Inn                     

Douds Kwik Stop

Sticker Shock Campaign

Have you seen these stickers around the community?

You may be wondering what it is all about. The Van Buren County SAFE Coalition and youth from the local Youth Leadership Council teamed up for Alcohol Awareness Month to remind adults that it is illegal to purchase or provide alcohol to minors. The goal of this youth-led initiative is to change adult attitudes about selling and providing alcohol to minors.

The students spent two days visiting each business in the county which sells carry-out alcohol to patrons. They placed bright red stop sign cooler clings, posters and stickers on beer products in the stores to remind adults “It is illegal to purchase or provide alcohol to minors.”

“Adults need to set a better example for kids,” said one youth member.  “When adults supply alcohol to youth it sends us a very mixed message.  Underage drinking is not a teen problem, but a community problem.  Adults, youth, law enforcement, and retail stores all need to be part of the solution.”

 Van Buren County SAFE Coalition recognizes the following stores for their desire to manage the sale of alcohol responsibly: Boyd’s Grocery, Casey’s, Circle B, Douds Kwik Stop, Jet Stop – Birmingham, Bonaparte and Milton, H&K Pony Express and Moore’s Grocery.  “A strong community message is sent when a business like this takes responsibility for speaking out against underage drinking,” said Heidi Bainbridge, Van Buren County SAFE Coalition coordinator.

Alcohol has been identified as the number one drug of choice among youth, and according to local youth, one of the easiest substances to obtain.  The Sticker Shock campaign hopes to cause adults to think twice before making it any easier for youth to access alcohol.

For more information on the sticker shock campaign you may contact the SAFE coalition at: 319-293-6412 or check us out on the web at www.vbsafecoalition.com.

THE VAN BUREN COUNTY SHERIFF’S RESERVE ARE TAKING BACK UNWANTED PRESCRIPTION DRUGS April 26, 2014 AT THE KEOSAUQUA SENIOR CENTER

On April 26^th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Reserve, Van Buren County SAFE Coalition and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will give the public another opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs.  Bring your medications for disposal to the Keosauqua Senior Center, 801 Front Street, Keosauqua.  The service is free and anonymous, no paperwork, no logs, no questions asked.

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue.  Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.  Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards.

Four days after the first event, Congress passed the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, which amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow an “ultimate user” of controlled substance medications to dispose of them by delivering them to entities authorized by the Attorney General to accept them.  The Act also allows the Attorney General to authorize long term care facilities to dispose of their residents’ controlled substances in certain instances.  DEA is drafting regulations to implement the Act.  Until new regulations are in place, local law enforcement agencies like the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Reserve and the DEA will continue to hold prescription drug take-back events every few months.

You do not have to wait for a Drug Take Back event to dispose of your medication.  Lee Pharmacy in Keosauqua accepts the return of prescription medications (excluding controlled substances) during their regular hours at their pharmacy counter.

The coalition is asking for your help in promoting the event, please let anyone who may have unused medication know about this! If you would like to know more about the Prescription Drug Take Back Day or Prescription Drug Abuse please find additional details at the following link: http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/index.html or contact the SAFE Coalition office at 319-293-6412.

Van Buren County Youth Attend “An Honest Conversation about Marijuana”

Van Buren County Youth Leadership Council members Lydia Heald, Emily Jester, Cassie Johnson, Libby King and Faith Murphy along with other youth from the state of Iowa attended An Honest Conversation about Marijuana.  During this conference they heard from Kevin Sabet, the Co-Founder of Project SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana), present on Reefer Sanity: Seven Great Myths about Marijuana.

This one-of-a-kind intensive training opportunity offered participants information on the dangers of marijuana legalization and use in the United States and more specifically in the state of Iowa.  During his presentation Dr. Sabet covered information on the addictive and dangerous nature of marijuana and why smoked marijuana is not good as medication, but properties of marijuana can be used to create regulated medications for suffering patients and are currently being developed.

Some of the key points he made were as follows:

·         Marijuana has harmful effects on the brain, mental health, lungs and can decrease an adolescent persistent and heavy users IQ by six to eight points – taking them from average intelligence to learning disabled.

·         One in six teens who try marijuana will become addicted to it.  The adolescent brain is especially susceptible to marijuana use.  When kids use, they have a greater chance of addiction since their brains are being primed. 

·         Today’s marijuana is not the marijuana of the 1960’s – in the past 15 years, marijuana potency has tripled and since 1960 it has grown five times stronger.

·         Marijuana has medical properties, but it does not need to be eaten or smoked.

·         There are marijuana based pills available and other medications are coming soon.  Research is currently going on with marijuana properties.  The development of these medications does need improvement.  Research needs to be done on marijuana’s components, not the raw crude plant. 

·         Medical Marijuana Legalization has led to increased use – residents of states with medical marijuana laws have abuse/dependence rates almost twice as high as states with no such laws.  This has also led to increased use among teens.  Many teens think “If pot is medicine and sanctioned by the state, then it must be safe to use.” 

The YLC members who attended this conference also participated in a question and answer session at the end of the presentation with questions and statements of their own.  This conference had a wealth of information that was eye opening and helpful to all of the attendees. 

For the sources of Dr. Sabet’s key points please see www.learnaboutsam.org.  For more information on this conference or topic please contact the SAFE Coalition at 319-293-6412 or by email at info@vbsafecoalition.com.

Youth Leadership Council Members hold Town Hall Meeting

On March 26^th students from the Van Buren County Youth Leadership Council along with the SAFE Coalition hosted Our Community. Our Health. Our Future.  This was a town hall event that was supported by SAMHSA.  This event brought awareness to the dangers of drugs, alcohol and tobacco in our community. Their goal was to share with the community the concerns that they personally have related to these issues.

SAMHSA town hall meetings are being held across the United States leading up to and in the month of April to support Alcohol Awareness Month. Underage drinking is a pressing public health concern that affects the health and well-being of our nation’s youth, their families and our community. Underage drinking contributes to a range of costly health and social problems, including traffic fatalities, suicide, physical and sexual assault, brain impairment, alcohol dependence, academic problems and alcohol and drug poisoning. Underage drinking costs U.S. citizens an estimated $62.0 billion in 2010 for related medical care, work loss and associated pain and suffering.

The event in Keosauqua did not only focus on underage drinking but also youth marijuana and youth tobacco use. More and more states are legalizing the use of marijuana for both medicinal and recreational uses and this is sending a message to youth that marijuana is “ok”. Youth Leadership Council members had a community discussion about how we can stop this growing trend from having a detrimental effect on the youth of Van Buren County.  Information about the use of e-cigarettes and other tobacco related products such as orbs, sticks and strips was also shared with participants.

Featured speakers at the event included Beverly Walsmith from the Iowa Tobacco Prevention Alliance, Jason Marlow, safety education officer with the Iowa State Patrol and Youth Leadership Council Members, Lydia Heald and Faith Murphy. These speakers spoke about the dangers of each of these drugs after participants had an opportunity to have a roundtable conversation about two questions related to the substances being discussed. This event allowed community members to also speak about their concerns and suggestions for making change.

There were 18 youth and 28 adults in attendance for this event. YLC members will be compiling all of the information obtained from this event to determine additional recommendations for their work and how they can have the greatest impact on these issues. They ended the evening by reminding the members of the community that this is “Our Community, Our Health and We ARE the future!”

For more information on this event or other YLC or SAFE Coalition activities please feel free to contact the SAFE Coalition at 319-293-6412 or via email at info@vbsafecoalition.com.