What would you do if you discovered that your drinking water contained antibiotics, heart medications, psychiatric drugs and hormones from birth control pills?

My name is Jordyn Schara and I am 14 years old.  The problem mentioned above is very real and has been happening in lakes, rivers and waterways across America.  That is why I started Wisconsin P²D², which stands for Prescription Pill and Drug Disposal.  I discovered that most people are unsure of how to dispose of their unwanted and expired medications.  They usually resort to flushing them down the toilet or the sink or just leaving them in their medicine cabinets.  Each of these methods has devastating consequences.

When medications are flushed down the toilet or poured down the sink, they contaminate our groundwater, causing problems for humans and aquatic animals.  If drugs are thrown out in the trash, they are accessible to children and pets and the medications can still get into our groundwater.

More people are now leaving their prescriptions in their medicine cabinets.  This innocent act is fueling the newest drug problem among America’s teens – Prescription and Over-The-Counter (OTC) Drug Abuse.  Teens are having “Pharm Parties” in which they mix all the medications that they have taken from their friends’ and relatives’ medicine cabinets and use them, not realizing the danger.  In 2006, more than 2.1 million teens ages 12 to 17 reported abusing prescription drugs.  Among 12 and 13-year-olds, prescription drugs are the drug of choice¹.  About 3.1 million people age 12 to 25 had used an OTC cough and cold medication to get high, and nearly 1 million had done so in the past year².  More people die from prescription drug abuse/misuse each year, than from heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine combined.

After being told over and over by the WI Dept of Natural Resources, EPA, Drug Enforcement Agency and local government that they can’t help me and that a 14 year could not tackle this level of a project, I am proud to say that the first drug disposal event in my hometown of Reedsburg, WI was held on Saturday, September 12^th and it was a monumental success!  We collected over 440 pounds of drugs and also hosted a flu shot clinic, a free sharps disposal and a free mercury thermometer swap (the 1^st 100 people with mercury thermometers were given free digital thermometers).  The cost to dispose of household hazardous waste is $3/pound and so far I have raised over $7,000.

I have won the respect and cooperation of my local government and police department along with state and national agencies.  My goal is to make this project self-sustainable, by helping the City to purchase a permanent drop off box and obtaining funds to pay for the disposal costs year-round.   In the beginning, my local police department was not willing to help me and actually tried to dissuade from achieving my goal.  However, once they realized I was determined to conduct a drug collection event, they were on board and even purchased an incinerator where they can dispose of some of the drugs that are collected.  This makes Reedsburg the first Teen-Driven, Self-Sustained, Drug Collection Program in America!

Being only 14 has its many downfalls in trying to pursue a project in an adult’s world, but, I am proud to say that I am the first 14 year old to have written and been awarded a Wisconsin state and a local grant to secure funds for the 2^nd WI P²D² event to be held on Earth Day in 2010.  This event, however, will be county-wide and will focus on the Hispanic population.

I am currently writing letters to my state lawmakers asking for their assistance in making drug disposal much easier for consumers.  Educating the public is the only way to stop the environmental damage that we are doing to our world and the only way to save our teens from prescription drug abuse, which is why I am sending packets of information to other municipalities that explain how to develop their own drug disposal projects.

Please help me spread the word about the danger of prescription and OTC abuse and the proper disposal and security of these medications

Thank you – Jordyn Schara

¹   2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)

²  2008 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services  Administration (SAMHSA)