The biennial report of The Wood County Youth Survey 2022 indicated increased levels of painkiller abuse among poll participants in grades 7 through 12. In response, Wood County Prevention Coalition(WCPC)/Drug-free Communities Grant Coordinator Tina Bradley reached out to both the Wood County Addiction Response Collaborative (ARC) and Wood County Committee on Aging (WCCOA) to begin addressing the matter.
“Access to expired, unwanted prescription drugs is a root cause for youth addiction, drug overdose and accidental poisoning,” Bradley noted.
Madison Weilnau, program coordinator, and Sheriff’s Deputy Kaleb Smith developed a “Safe Drug Disposal” presentation and delivered it on March 1 at the WCCOA Bowling Green site.
WCPC provided courtesy magnets listing the addresses of the six drug drop boxes located throughout Wood County as well as free Deterra packets to those in attendance. Deterra is a plant-based product that deactivates drugs safely and quickly at home. WCPC’s recent video provides added information about this.
The presentation was well-received to the point that representatives of the WCCOA invited ARC and WCPC to present it three additional times in the future: Thursday, May 12, at 12:30 p.m. at the WCCOA Rossford site; Monday, May 23, at 12:30 p.m. at the WCCOA Wayne site; and Wednesday, June 29, at 12:30 p.m. at the WCCOA Walbridge site. For more information on these presentations call 419-353-5661.
To learn about the work of Wood County ARC, call 419-373-3900. To request your free Deterra packets, contact Bradley at the email address above.
