DuPage's War on Drugs: Board OKs Dollars for Medicine Drop-Offs; Heroin Prevention

The DuPage County Board approved two drug prevention measures this week; one related to prescription drop-offs and the other, heroin prevention.

Board members allocated $40,000 at their regular meeting Tuesday to expand the DuPage County Health Department’s RxBox Program, which provides safe medication disposal boxes at participating law enforcement agencies. They also approved $24,189.40 for the Robert Crown Center of Health Education's heroin prevention program.

The initiatives are a part of the strategy discussed by the DuPage Heroin Coalition. The group was formed in 2014 in response to the growing heroin crisis and is chaired by DuPage County Board member Grant Eckhoff.

“Both heroin and fentanyl prevention education and the expansion of the RxBox Program are great ways to fight drug abuse in DuPage County," Eckhoff said. "The coalition is constantly looking for innovative ways to effectively help our DuPage families and combat heroin, fentanyl and prescription pain medication addiction."

A total of 4,800 DuPage County students, teachers and parents have so far participated in the Crown Center’s heroin prevention education. The approved funding will allow the program to continue in its 13 middle and high schools.

The Rx Box program is comprised of a dozen disposal box locations. More than 70,000 pounds of unused or expired prescription medications have been collected since its inception in 2009. The latest allocation allows the health department to expand the number of kiosks.

“Due to the success of the Rx Box program, we knew expanding the number of available drop-off sites would rid our households of unused medications," said County Board Chairman Dan Cronin. "That’s an important step in reducing the likelihood that someone will abuse or become addicted to those drugs."

DuPage Finance Committee Chairman Paul Fichtner added that, “Prevention measures like these create a lasting community impact by saving families the emotional and financial costs of drug abuse and addiction."