As the old adage goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. This reference seems especially fitting in the context of combating the Opioid Epidemic and keeping the residents of Fremont County safe, healthy, and productive.
In Fremont County alone, according to the 2018 Prevention Needs Assessment (PNA) just under 15% of Fremont County 12th graders report having taken a prescription drug not prescribed to them. In many instances, the sources of these drugs come from unused or expired medication laying around in friends, family, and neighbor’s medicine cabinets or pill bottles.
On Saturday, June 22nd, dozens of prevention-minded residents brought their unused medications to the Household Hazardous Waste Drop Off events at the Dubois Landfill and at the Midvale Fire Hall to join in the solution of limiting access to these drugs.
With the help of the local Sheriff’s Office, Game & Fish, and several other organizations, the Fremont County Prevention Program was able to deactivate the equivalent of 1,810 prescription pills in Dubois, and 2,930 Rx at Midvale.
Pictured above, Deputy Nate Hindman and Mariah Smith with the Fremont County Prevention Coalition, use Deterra Drug Deactivation Pouches to destroy unwanted meds. Also during the event, 3 types of medications and relative equipment were collected which will be added to the inventory of the Wyoming Medication Donation Program.
The Fremont County Prevention Program has been collecting and destroying meds at various events this year and has plans to do more in the near future. In the meantime, Fremont County Prevention Program encourages residents to utilize our community’s Med Drop Boxes scattered throughout the county. See locations below:
Lander Police Department – 240 Lincoln Street
Riverton Police Department – 816 North Federal Boulevard
Dubois Sheriff’s Office – 712 Meckem Street
Shoshoni Town Hall & Police Department – 102 West 2nd Street
SageWest Health Care in Lander – 1320 Bishop Randall Drive
SageWest Health Care in Riverton – 2100 West Sunset Drive
Wind River Cares Clinic in Arapahoe – 14 Great Plains Road
Indian Health Services Clinic in Ft. Washakie – 29 Black Coal Drive
For questions, please contact Tauna at Fremont County Prevention Program, 307-851-1667 or [email protected].
