Police Tell Citizens 'Take it to the Box'

Between 5 and 10 percent of high school seniors have abused prescription drugs. That, claims Minnesota Medicine, compares to about 1 percent of sixth-graders.

Scott County is ramping up its effort to curb prescription drug abuse through a campaign called “Take it to the Box”.

Through a partnership with the Scott County Meth Task Force, Scott County Sheriff’s Office and local police departments, the campaign encourages people to turn in their old and unused prescription drugs at drop boxes across the county.

“Prescription drugs are becoming a hot item on the street,” Scott County Sheriff Kevin Studnicka said.

Scott County residents can drop off unused medications including prescription, over-the-counter and pet medications, as well as liquid medications in leak-proof containers, while illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia can go in any of the six “Take it to the Box” drop boxes.

A list of drop box locations is available on the “Take it to the Box” website.

Paul Kelly, a counsellor at Shakopee High School, said he’s fully aware of the prescription drug abuse problem in Shakopee schools. He thinks the drop box is a "great idea, like a perfect, ideal scenario for an intervention."

“In the last three years, it has gotten progressively gotten worse,” Kelly said. “If someone is ready to put up their drugs, they’re probably ready for an intervention.”

Interestingly, the Shakopee School District isn't working with Scott County to promote the drug drop-off site—an obvious partnership that seems, so far, to have been overlooked.

“That’s actually a very good idea to make announcements about it,” said Shakopee school nurse Peggy Nerdahl.  “But we haven’t done it.”

That said, the “Take it to the Box” program is only six months old and, since its inception, officials have collected over 1,600 pounds of prescription drugs, Studnicka said.

“If you’ve got something that has been sitting in the bathroom for too long, take an afternoon, clean your stuff out and get rid of what you don’t need," Studnicka said. "Bring it to anywhere where there’s a box and we’ll take it off your hands free of charge.”