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Prescription Drug Abuse on the Rise in Fairfax County, Officials Say

The Unified Prevention Coalition has partnered with the Fairfax County Police Department for an annual "medicine cabinet clean-out" which aims to raise awareness about prescription drug abuse in the county.

Prescription drug abuse is on the rise in Fairfax County and a handful of local organizations are working to put a stop to what the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has classified as an epidemic.

Prescription drug abuse is a different problem compared to others in the county, due to its reach and rate of expansion, said Amy Reif, health sector coordinator for the Unified Prevention Coalition (UPC) of Fairfax County, who spoke with reporters Tuesday at the Mason District Governmental Center in Annandale.

According to statistics from UPC, there were 51 drug/poison deaths in Fairfax County in 2011 and deaths by prescription drugs such as fentanyl, hydrocodone, methadone and oxycodone than by cocaine and heroin. 

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In an effort to curb the problem, the UPC has partnered with the Fairfax County Police Department to host the sixth annual Operation Medicine Cabinet Cleanout Monday, May 27 through Saturday, June 1. It is the goal of UPC to educate and raise awareness about prescription drug abuse through the clean-out, which is part of National Prevention Week.

More than 70 percent of people who abuse a prescription drug obtain it from a family member or a friend often without their knowledge from medicine cabinets, according to Reif, compared to 5 percent of those who abuse prescription drugs who get them from the traditional drug dealer.

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“This epidemic is easily preventable when the community takes simple, appropriate steps such as educating themselves and family on the dangers of abusing prescription drugs such as addiction, overdose, accidental poisoning and death,” said Reif.

Residents are encouraged to drop off unused or expired medications at one of the six police stations in Fairfax County at any time during the clean-out event. 

Increased awareness and education now rather than later can help young adults like Caitlin Acosta, who struggled with prescription drug addiction.

Acosta, 24, of Falls Church, is a recovering prescription drug addict who was charged with a felony at age 12 after school officials found a bottle of Percocet in her backpack at school.

“I just wanted to do something that would make me feel different,” said Acosta, who described herself as feeling “uncomfortable, not cool enough, not pretty enough” in middle school.

Following her conviction, Acosta spent the next several years experimenting with prescription drugs, primarily oxycontin, and took xanax, abused alcohol and smoked marijuana before she sought help. She told her parents and with their support, was able to get clean by age 21. 

“It’s a miracle that I’m healthy and alive and happy,” said Acosta.

In high school, Acosta noticed kids would sell Adderall and Ritalin around exam time to help focus, a trend that Fairfax County police officers say they are monitoring closely as it becomes a nationwide problem.

Sergeant James Cox, with the organized crime and narcotics division of the Fairfax County Police Department said officers see sales of prescription drugs throughout the year on school campuses from the middle school level up through the college level, not just during exam time.

“It’s a huge nationwide problem, not just Fairfax County,” said Cox.

However, Cox noted that there is an increase around exam time because kids discuss the effects the drugs have on studying with each other.

Cox said the kids who are legally prescribed drugs by a doctor sell them to make money or they’re trying to help out a friend. Many times, parents are in denial of their child’s problem, especially if the child is well-adjusted or has shown no previous signs of behavioral problems, said Cox. It’s up to adults, Cox said, to be the ones to tell kids about the consequences of prescription drug use.

“We have to start changing the way we do things,” said Cox. “You have to take that medicine cabinet out of the bathroom. Get rid of those pills.”

Parents are often in denial when police go to them about good kids taking prescription drugs.

“Kids just don’t think in terms [of consequences][. It’s our job to elevate the conversation to a certain level, to talk about the hazards of prescription drug abuse,” said George Young, a UPC board member and senior clinician for National Counseling Group, Inc.

The sixth annual Operation Medicine Cabinet Cleanout is sponsored by the Unified Prevention Coalition of Fairfax County in collaboration with the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board and the Department of Neighborhood and Community Services, local pharmacies and the Fairfax County government departments of Health, Police, Public Works and Environmental Services, Office of Public Private Partnerships, and Channel 16.

As part of the cleanout, UPC will also distribute a prescription fact card for parents with helpful information about prescription drug abuse and how to avoid it.

To learn more about the cleanout and more information about how to safely dispose of medications outside of the cleanout dates, visit www.unifiedpreventioncoalition.org


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