Gov. Bullock addresses prescription drug safety

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock described the climb of prescription drug abuse in the state from a podium in the middle of Walgreens in Kalispell on Monday afternoon.

“As people — if you go to your own medicine cabinet — we tend to hang on to drugs,” Bullock said. “... We need to make sure that all of us as Montanans have ways to get rid of unneeded drugs so they’re not falling in the wrong hands.”

The state’s director of health stood to his right and Walgreens representatives stood to his left during the public unveiling of a new medication disposal kiosk at the Walgreens pharmacy, located at 40 W. Idaho St.

A mix of shoppers and people dressed in business attire followed the governor to a metal container bolted to the ground and tucked in the corner of the store’s pharmacy. A narrow opening in the kiosk allows people to drop off unused medications — no questions asked — without being large enough for a hand to grab the pills stacking in the container.

IN 2014, an estimated 6.5 million Americans abused prescription drugs, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Sheila Hogan, the director of Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, said between 2000 and 2015, nearly 700 Montanans died of prescription opioid poisoning.

“We know that Montanans who first start abusing prescription drugs receive that medication from either a friend, a family [member] or someone else other than a physician,” Hogan said.

Nearly 70 percent of painkiller abusers get their drugs from a friend or family member and most get them for free, according to the administration.

In 2015, roughly 16 percent of high school youth reported taking a prescription drug without a doctor’s prescription.

Hogan said the state health department received a three-year, $900,000 grant from the Centers for Disease Control last fall, in part to identify high-risk areas for drug addiction. She said once those communities are known, the state will be able to focus on prevention, treatment and recovery services in those areas.

Sanjay Bhana, Walgreens regional vice president for the Pacific Northwest, said pharmacies should be part of the effort to prevent prescription drug abuse.

“As a pharmacy, we determined that we could and we should and we are playing a stronger role in reducing the misuse of medications,” Bhana said.

Walgreen’s prescription-return program is part of its national plan unrolled last year to address contributors to the opioid-addiction crisis.

Bhana said the company received roughly 10 tons of medications in the program’s first six months.

There are 48 permanent prescription drug drop locations across Montana. The Walgreens location will be the third prescription drug drop in Kalispell, according Montana Department of Justice records.

There are also disposal boxes at the Whitefish Police Department and Columbia Falls Police Department. But Bullock said a pharmacy is the most “natural” place for someone to return unneeded drugs.

For a list of prescription drug return locations, go to https://dojmt.gov/consumer/prescriptiondrugabuse/rx-dropbox-locations/.

Reporter Katheryn Houghton may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at khoughton@dailyinterlake.com.