WEST LINN TEENS SPEARHEAD PRESCRIPTION DRUG DROP-OFF AT HIGH SCHOOL

It started as a small idea, really. Members of West Linn’s Youth Advisory Council hoped a few city residents might want to drop off unwanted medications for safe disposal.

But that small idea blossomed into a rousing success on Jan. 28, when student volunteers collected about 100 pounds of potentially dangerous drugs with the help of the West Linn Police Department.

Mayor Russ Axelrod did his part, driving to the temporary drop-off station set up in West Linn High School’s faculty parking lot. Like many people, Axelrod wanted to get rid of powerful painkillers left over from recent surgeries.

“We didn’t need that stuff and we wanted to get rid of it in a responsible way,” Axelrod said. “I think these kids did a great job with this project and I can’t wait to work with them more this year.”

Courtney Flynn, the city’s citizen engagement coordinator, said getting unneeded drugs out of home medicine cabinets can help prevent two problems. First, the drugs can’t be abused by teens –

or adults. And secondly, the drugs won’t be flushed down the toilet, where they eventually will wind up in rivers and streams.

To hammer home the point, the city created posters saying, “A Hidden Danger Lurks in Your Cabinet. Get Rid of It.”

Flynn helped to staff the drop-off station, along with Officer Allister Bunch, WLPD’s school resource officer, and Rita Swanson, the department’s evidence technician. Lt. Mike Stradley also swung by, making sure the volunteers would be well fueled by pizza after the morning coffee and bagels ran out.

Meanwhile, Youth Advisory Council members volunteered for three two-hour shifts, ready to help any way they could. The drop-off was the first project spearheaded by the West Linn High students since the 20-member advisory council was created by the West Linn City Council as a way to engage teens in civic affairs.

“We’ve been talking a lot about drug-abuse issues,” said Youth Advisory Council member Maggie McCaffrey, a WLHS senior. “So we met with Lt. Stradley and talked about what we can do. We want to do our part to make West Linn a safe place to be.”

While staffing the drop-off station, student volunteers also reminded those dropping off medications that a permanent drug drop-off site has been set up in the lobby of the West Linn Police Station, 1800 Eighth Ave.

Monique Herman was the first to drive up to the drop-off station at the high school, handing a bag of assorted pill vials to the waiting volunteers.

“My husband, Paul, had hip surgery a while ago,” Herman said. “But they gave him so many pain pills that he couldn’t use them in a lifetime. We’re really rather not have that stuff lying around the house.”

Officer Bunch applauded the Hermans’ thinking. He said just getting the drugs out of reach will cut potentially dangerous temptations for curious young children or teens prone to experimenting.

“If the medications are not for the person they were prescribed for, they can cause real health issues for whoever takes them,” Bunch said. “In some cases, that can be deadly.”

Marilyn Ellwood, retired West Linn-Wilsonville School District nurse, also drove up to get rid of unwanted painkillers. She said she and her husband both had undergone knee-replacement surgeries and she also had an operation on her back.

“They gave me something like 150 pills -- and I think I took one,” said Ellwood, who worked for the school district for nearly 30 years before retiring in 2011. “We really didn’t need them.”

Little by little, the drop-offs filled large cardboard boxes. Swanson, responsible for custody of the drugs, sealed the boxes when they hit the prescribed weight. She said the boxes – and their contents -- would be safely burned at Marion County’s Energy From Waste incinerator near Brooks.

West Linn High School Principal Kevin Mills said he was pleased to see the students working together and with adults on a worthwhile project. He was especially pleased that holding a drug drop-off was their idea.

“It’s very powerful when students are working to make a better community,” Mills said. “Sometimes, teens may not listen to adults. But peers listen to peers. And when peers lead by example, it can be extremely powerful for the kid, the school and the community.”