Trumbull County ranks eighth out of Ohio's 88 counties for unintentional prescription drug overdoses and one way people seeking access to drugs are getting to prescription medications is through Realtor open houses.
"Drug thefts during open houses are not new, but the incidents appear to be increasing. People are becoming desperate," said Lauren Thorp, program director at the Trumbull County Mental Health and Recovery Board. "Drugs may be resold on the street for more cash than pieces of jewelry."
The Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention, a program of the Trumbull County Mental Health and Recovery Board, and the Area Agency on Aging District 11 are offering a solution to the problem. The group is giving away free med lock boxes from MedSafe to Trumbull County Realtors, who can distribute them to clients prior to open houses to lock up their medications.
"We have 100 boxes available at this time, so the boxes are being distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis," Thorp said. "If the program is a success and we secure additional funding, we may expand the program in the future."
The most popular stolen in-home medications tend to be controlled substances, such as anti-anxiety medications, attention deficit disorder prescriptions such as Ritalin, pain pills, and psychiatric drugs.
However, both prescription and over-the-counter drugs have been targeted by open house crashers. Antihistamines, for example, may be stolen and used to produce PCP and similar hallucinogenic street drugs. Cough medicine and diet pills are commonly stolen and abused substances.
To receive a lock box, Realtors need to contact Thorp at 330-675-2765 ext. 119.
