National Prescription Drug Take Back Day October 29

Law enforcement, public health, and environmental professionals stand united in support of medication take-back programs, such as the DEA’s take-back event on Saturday, October 29, as the safest and most responsible way to dispose of old and leftover medicines.  Take-back programs are one way to prevent youth prescription drug abuse.

In our community, the North Precinct will be collecting unused medications on October 29, 10:00 a.m to 2:00 p.m. as part of the DEA's national take-back day.  Other Seattle Police precincts are also participating.  In addition to these one-day drop-off sites, local Bartell Drugs and Group Health sites take back medicines all of the time.


In Washington State, the Take Back Your Meds Coalition is advocating for a permanent, state-wide take-back program.  Drug manufacturers are in a unique position to take responsibility and pay for take-back programs as a cost of doing business, just as they already do in other countries. For a couple of pennies per prescription or bottle of cold pills, drug companies could finance and provide a safe ongoing medicine take-back system for our state.

In Olympia, big PHARMA has worked hard to dodge taking responsibility. Sadly, pressure from PHARMA stalled action in the WA Legislature last year. Luckily, this year our representatives again have a chance to pass a bill to create a state wide medicine take-back system by requiring companies selling medicines in the state to provide the program as part of doing business.

SPD: 286 pounds of prescription drugs dropped off at precincts during one-day event

From the Seattle Police Department:

A big "thank you" to all the citizens who participated in National Drug Take Back Day and rid their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs.

Citizens dropped off 286.12 pounds of prescription drugs at the five Seattle Police drop-off points! The precinct totals are as follows:

• North Precinct 54.55 pounds
• East Precinct 37.35 pounds
• West Precinct 19.45 pounds
• South Precinct 94.29 pounds
• Southwest Precinct 80.50 pounds

Thank you to all Prevention WINS coalition members who helped publicize this event!

The Take Back Your Meds campaign is working locally to institute a permanent medicine return program.  Learn more at their website.

Forum on youth and police relations

On January 12 at the Garfield Teen Life Center, local youth, in partnership with Seattle Parks and Recreation, Seattle Police Department, Students Against Violence Everywhere, and the Seattle Youth Commission, will host "Building Bridges", a forum to discuss youth and police relations. The event will include a panel of officers, community members and teenagers and breakout sessions to enable all to share and listen to each others' concerns.

More information is available at the SAVE Seattle website.

Easy access

According to 2008 Healthy Youth Survey data, 65% of NE Seattle high school seniors report that it is easy to obtain alcohol if they want it. (Thanks to RUaD -- the state coalition to Reduce Underage Drinking -- for the beautiful charts!)

A few months ago, the Seattle Police Department and members of the Prevention WINS coalition in NE Seattle asked the Liquor Control Board to not renew the liquor license of SP Mart. Since the mini-mart has a long history of selling to minors, no matter who owns it, the police also requested that the license be removed from the site.

The store continues to be a place where minors attempt to purchase alcohol, often successfully. Early last month, a Liquor Control Board officer caught a minor in possession of alcohol outside of the store. The minor had requested an adult purchase alcohol for him or her and was successful. Though SP Mart did not receive a citation this time, the incident shows that minors still feel comfortable trying to buy alcohol there.

Surmising that teenagers are likely to try to obtain alcohol elsewhere in our community, Liquor Control Board officers are monitoring other stores in the Wedgwood area for sales to minors.

Reducing teenager's access to alcohol is one of several prevention strategies happening in our community. One strategy alone isn't going to reduce our high underage drinking rates. However, as a community, if we all work together and implement effective prevention strategies throughout NE Seattle, we will make a difference.

Update: SP Mart liquor license

On April 15 I blogged about the Seattle Police Department's (SPD) letter to the Liquor Control Board (LCB) requesting that the liquor license not be renewed for SP Mart, a mini-mart a few blocks west of Eckstein Middle School.

Since then, the owner of SP Mart has tried to sell the business and the SPD sent another letter to the LCB asking that the liquor license be removed from the site of the store, not just the owner. SP Mart has been owned by different people over the past few years and each one of them has sold alcohol to minors. Teenagers know that they can buy alcohol at the store, regardless of who owns it. Reading SPD's second letter makes that readily apparent.

Reducing minor's access to alcohol plays an important role in reducing underage drinking rates in northeast Seattle. Especially since it is part of community-wide prevention activities being implemented by the coalition.

SPD requests liquor license not be renewed

A recent letter to the Washington State Liquor Control Board from the Seattle Police Department asks that the liquor license for SP Mart not be renewed. SP Mart is located just five blocks from Eckstein Middle School, the recipient of a prevention grant from the Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse because of high underage drinking rates in northeast Seattle.

Over the past few years, SP Mart has been caught selling alcohol to minors multiple times by both Seattle Police and the Liquor Control Board. Earlier today, I was told that they were caught selling to minors again last Friday, despite being notified that their liquor license is in jeopardy.

On February 6, I blogged about a study that shows that drinking rates are higher among 12 - 17 year-olds who live within a half-mile of an alcohol outlet and those teenagers are more likely to binge drink and engage in drunk driving. Reducing the access minors have to alcohol in our community is an important part of the multiple prevention strategies our coalition is implementing.