This past summer, the Antioch Police Department installed a prescription drug box inside the west lobby. The box is intended to collect prescription drugs and other substances that are not needed or cannot be used appropriately anymore, in hopes of preventing abuse of these drugs. A few examples of appropriate items that can be placed in the box include various prescription medications, over-the-counter medications and other substances, including medicated ointments.

The lobby is open day and night to allow for the collection of these substances that no longer have a proper use. The box is then emptied monthly and weighed before the contents are properly disposed of. “In our first month, we had a little bit less than fifty pounds,” said APD Sgt. Rick Moritz.

The box came from a drug awareness organization called Save A Star in response to the increase of incidents involving prescription drug abuse in the area. Currently, there are boxes located in 21 police department lobbies throughout Illinois. Antioch Police Chief Craig Somerville received information from the organization and decided that Antioch would be a good location to install another drop off box. For a full list of acceptable items, please visit the Save A Star website at www.saveastar.org and click on the Save A Star drug disposal boxes link.

The Save A Star Drug Awareness Foundation was founded in Highland Park, Ill. by David and Gail Katz. The couple and their daughter created the organization after their son, Daniel, died due to a prescription drug overdose.

According to the Save A Star website, the mission statement is as follows: “Prescription drug abuse is the nation’s fastest growing drug epidemic. The Save a Star Drug Awareness Foundation brings attention to the disease of prescription drug abuse and addiction by promoting awareness, education and resources. The Foundation is committed to the safe collection and disposal of drugs as another means of minimizing the cycle of prescription drug abuse and addiction.”
The APD has decided to help this cause both by installing the Save A Star collection box and by providing informational presentations for local schools. The presentations are to help faculty, staff and students to recognize and understand drug addictions and issues in Antioch, something Moritz believes is a very real issue in the Antioch community.
Moritz said, “It’s all here right in Antioch. These things happen no matter where you are. We do address them as we hear about them, as quickly as we can.”

Chief Somerville put together a presentation that was given to the staffs of Antioch and Lakes as well as other district personnel. This was followed by another presentation to Lakes students which highlighted the ten most commonly abused prescription drugs, as well as other illegal drugs and their effects. At Antioch Upper Grade School, fourth, fifth and sixth graders and their parents gathered to gain awareness about drug use and were given the opportunity to ask any questions they had about the topic.

“Prescription drugs are more prevalent because the accessibility is much greater. Anyone can go to the pharmacy and pick up their prescription, but if [the drugs] are not secured properly, that’s where we run into trouble,” Moritz said.
In a survey of 100 ACHS students, only 9 percent admitted to having abused a prescription drug, but 60 percent said that they knew of another high school student that has abused a prescription drug.

“Prescription drugs are made for the people that they are prescribed to,” said Moritz. “The doctors know what the prescription is for, what their body type is, what their weight is, and what other prescriptions they might be taking. If somebody starts taking pills without having any of that from a doctor, they can run into serious problems. I want them [teens] to know that there is always a risk to taking someone else’s prescription.”