The American Medicine Chest Challenge

On behalf of the board of directors for Drug Free Collier, I am writing to raise awareness of the growing abuse of prescription drugs and what we, as a community, can do about it.

More than 70 percent of people who abuse prescription drugs get them from friends or family. One in nine children are abusing prescription pain relievers to get high. In their own homes, teens pilfer pills to sell, give to friends or take themselves — often not realizing that mixing drugs or taking them with alcohol can have deadly results.

Prescription drugs are involved in most drug deaths in Collier County, and one easy place to find them is the home medicine cabinet.

That is why on Saturday, Drug Free Collier is partnering with law enforcement, businesses and the community to host Operation Medicine Cabinet to take back your unwanted prescription drugs from

10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The locations are:

Costco, 6275 Naples Blvd.

CVS pharmacies at 294 Ninth St. S., 8831 Immokalee Road and 1102 N. 15th St. (Immokalee)

EPN UrgentCare Center, 6400 Davis Blvd.

Everglades City Hall

Naples Recycling Center, 2640 W. Enterprise Ave.

Sunshine Pharmacy, 13020 Livingston Road

Sweetbay supermarkets, 4897 Golden Gate Parkway and 2400 Immokalee Road

Wal-Mart Super Center, 9885 Collier Blvd.

Operation Medicine Cabinet is a pharmaceutical take-back program that allows citizens to dispose of their unused or expired over-the-counter and prescription medications, including controlled substances — no questions asked, no ID required, and it’s free.

Operation Medicine Cabinet provides the opportunity for a community to change its habits in regard to the use and safe storage of pharmaceuticals, all in an effort to reduce accessibility to dangerous substances from our youth.

Some things you can do:

n Talk to your children about the dangers of prescription drug abuse.

n Take inventory of your prescription and over-the-counter medicine.

n Lock your medicine chest.

n Dispose of your unused, unwanted and expired medicine in your home or at one of Drug Free Collier’s permanent prescription drop box disposal sites.

All medications that are collected are safely destroyed by incineration, which environmental specialists consider to be the best method. Throwing drugs into the toilet poisons our waterways, wildlife and drinking supply. Tossing them in the garbage can results in these substances sitting in a landfill, posing additional environmental threats.

Saturday’s take-back event symbolizes Drug Free Collier’s commitment to halting the rise in addiction caused by the misuse of prescription drugs and to reducing the hazard they pose to our families and communities. Our countless volunteers will be on hand providing information on how to protect yourself, your family and your community. Working together, we will save and change lives.

For more information, please visit our website, DrugFreeCollier.org, or contact us at (239) 377-0535.

Salley is chief of corrections for the Collier County Sheriff’s Office.

Scott Salley