Operation Medicine Cabinet aims to reduce access to drugs

by Cory Knapp, Teen News Team member
Vision Coalition of El Dorado Hills

On Oct. 14, more than 50 people came to a Vision Coalition event called Operation Medicine Cabinet. Many local organizations came to support this event and host resource tables, including El Dorado County Community Health Center, The Center for Violence-Free Relationships, New Morning, Recovery Happens, Diogenes, Family Connections, El Dorado Sheriff’s Office and El Dorado Hills Fire Department.

The purpose of the event was to bring awareness to the increasing problem of the abuse of household medicines. According to DJ Peterson, director of the Vision Coalition of El Dorado Hills, there have been two deaths of young people in El Dorado Hills due to prescription drug misuse in the last three months.

The main speaker, Jon Daily, director at Recovery Happens Counseling Services, gave a presentation about the dangers of prescription drugs and over-the-counter medicine abuse. He said, “Kids do not realize the dangers of prescription drugs; they just see them as another way to get high.”

Anne Baird, representative of Assemblywoman Alyson Huber’s office, commented that she wants to support this effort to reduce access to drugs and keep them out of the hands of teens.

Captain Mark Getchel of the El Dorado Sheriff’s Office demonstrated the Federal Drug Administration procedure for proper drug disposal. More than 200 bottles of medications were collected and destroyed.

For more information on upcoming Vision Coalition events, call (916) 941-8482 or visit the Vision Coalition Web site and become a member.

The Vision Coalition of El Dorado Hills is a Community Action coalition of Sierra Health Foundation’s REACH youth program.