Rotarian David Schultz introduced the speakers, John McGinnis and Brian Loots of Five Stars Recovery Center. Five Stars is an addiction treatment program in Chaska. McGinnis is admissions coordinator. He enlightened us about the severe consequences of opioid addiction and its effects in Carver County. Surprisingly, this problem is a primarily a United States’ issue with 90 percent of the usage in the world. Most of the world does not have access to prescription medications like American do.
Overdosing is so common; fast food chains now might have a nasal spray medication that can immediately counteract the opioid’s effect. Addiction can start quickly, and youngsters are among those who obtain the prescription pills from the medicine cabinets of relatives or friends. John encouraged us to keep pain medications in secure places.
Brian Loots, the center’s director (and prospective Rotary member), shared his amazement at the prevalence of overdoses and the frequency of death among those addicted. He shared how easy it is to forget previous prescriptions that weren’t used, and wanted us to take leftovers to the Courthouse drop box or use dissolve kits for medications.
Find our more information about Five Stars Recovery Center.
Disposal of Unused Medicines: What You Should Know
Take It to The Box is a program sponsored by the Carver County Sheriff’s Office and another in Waconia City Hall, these locations are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The third location is in Chanhassen City Hall and is open weekdays, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Medicine take-back programs are also a good way to safely dispose of most types of unneeded medicines. The Chaska Police Department hosts a Drug Take Back Program in April with the Senior Expo. We also participate in the National Prescription Drug Take Back held nationwide, which is an annual event.
For seniors who are homebound and unable to go to one of the locations, Chaska Police partnered with River Valley Nursing Center and offers a safe way to dispose of medications called “Deterra” which is a drug deactivation system and allows seniors to safely dispose of medicines at home
