Bristol Co. implements prescription drop-off program

April 26, 2016 6:02 pm

By: Rebecca Turco

Email: rturco@abc6.com

FALL RIVER, Mass. – After months of planning, all 20 police departments in Bristol County now have prescription drop-off boxes for expired or unused medications.

Officials hope these drop-off boxes will help keep the drugs out of the hands of family and friends with addiction issues.

"The Percocets that potentially could [lead to addiction] are going to be destroyed, not left there for years in the medicine cabinet," explained Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn.

It took six months to implement the drop-off program at every department and so far they have collected hundreds of pounds of medications. Officials hope this helps combat the opioid epidemic and lead to fewer drug arrests. "We’re trying to deal with pragmatic impact things that hopefully can jar people and help stem this tide [of abuse]," said Quinn.

Local advocates say though progress is being made, authorities should focus more on treatment. “Arresting certainly isn’t the answer,” explained Nic Charest with SSTAR Addiction Treatment. “I don’t think anybody wants to be suffering from this awful disease but without access to treatment, it’s more and more difficult to put that out of your life."

As we get closer to prom season, authorities are also concerned about underage substance abuse. Quinn says they are focusing more on first-hand education in schools, which involves inviting survivors of drunk driving accidents to share their stories with students.

People like Joshua Reed of Halifax, who was T-boned by an underage drunk driver in 2011 when he was 18, three days before the start of senior year. He suffered traumatic brain injury in addition to a host of other injuries. “If I can help one person make a better choice, then I feel I have made a difference,” he said.