Leftover prescription medications cluttering household medicine cabinets could contribute to the growing problem of substance abuse if they end up in the wrong hands. Prescription drug abuse is on the rise in Wyoming. From 2005 to 2008, there were 339 deaths linked to prescription drugs in the state. Over that same time period, there was only one Wyoming death connected to heroin and nine linked to cocaine, according to the Wyoming Department of Health.Drug users access painkillers or other controlled substances through fraud, doctor shopping, forgery and illegal buying. Yet “many people are also surprised to hear there is frequently theft during real estate open houses, stealing from family members and robbery by workers in homes,” said Rodger McDaniel, WDH deputy director for mental health and substance abuse services.To help reduce the risk of prescription drug abuse, the Powell Police Department is asking residents to dispose of unused medications at the police station, where drugs will then be properly discarded.Powell's new program joins similar initiatives in other Wyoming communities. Last spring, Gov. Dave Freudenthal signed a bill that helped fund take-back programs around the state.Through its program, the Casper Police Department last year retrieved more than 850 pounds of prescription drugs, according to the Casper-Star Tribune.While discarding drugs at the police station helps keep them off the street, take-back programs also assure the environment won't be negatively impacted by substances thrown in the trash or flushed down a toilet. The Wyoming Department of Health notes that drugs can pollute wastewater, potentially affecting fish or other aquatic species, and medicine thrown in the garbage may be harmful to wildlife scavengers.To protect the environment as well as the community, unused drugs should be disposed of at the police station. The Powell Police Department's take-back program makes disposal convenient for residents, and with prescription drug abuse a prevalent problem in Wyoming, there's no good reason to keep potentially dangerous leftover medications.

Leftover prescription medications cluttering household medicine cabinets could contribute to the growing problem of substance abuse if they end up in the wrong hands.

Prescription drug abuse is on the rise in Wyoming. From 2005 to 2008, there were 339 deaths linked to prescription drugs in the state. Over that same time period, there was only one Wyoming death connected to heroin and nine linked to cocaine, according to the Wyoming Department of Health.

Drug users access painkillers or other controlled substances through fraud, doctor shopping, forgery and illegal buying. Yet “many people are also surprised to hear there is frequently theft during real estate open houses, stealing from family members and robbery by workers in homes,” said Rodger McDaniel, WDH deputy director for mental health and substance abuse services.

To help reduce the risk of prescription drug abuse, the Powell Police Department is asking residents to dispose of unused medications at the police station, where drugs will then be properly discarded.

Powell's new program joins similar initiatives in other Wyoming communities. Last spring, Gov. Dave Freudenthal signed a bill that helped fund take-back programs around the state.

Through its program, the Casper Police Department last year retrieved more than 850 pounds of prescription drugs, according to the Casper-Star Tribune.

While discarding drugs at the police station helps keep them off the street, take-back programs also assure the environment won't be negatively impacted by substances thrown in the trash or flushed down a toilet. The Wyoming Department of Health notes that drugs can pollute wastewater, potentially affecting fish or other aquatic species, and medicine thrown in the garbage may be harmful to wildlife scavengers.

To protect the environment as well as the community, unused drugs should be disposed of at the police station. The Powell Police Department's take-back program makes disposal convenient for residents, and with prescription drug abuse a prevalent problem in Wyoming, there's no good reason to keep potentially dangerous leftover medications.