Wondering how to get rid of that leftover Vicodin or OxyContin in your medicine cabinet? The Longview Police Department is open for business.

A new narcotics take-back program begins operating today in the LPD lobby near the intersection of 14th Avenue and Hudson Street. Anyone with unused prescription drugs is encouraged to bring them to LPD, where the evidence technician will destroy them.

The secure drop box was created in response to citizens’ concerns about prescription drug abuse, said Bryan McCrady of the Cowlitz Substance Abuse Coalition.

At a community forum in May, Dr. Brian Hoyt of St. John Medical Center reported that accidental deaths from prescription drug abuse surpassed traffic deaths in 2007 and 2008.

“In the last 10 years, I’m really kind of bothered and shocked by the amount of prescription drug abuse we’re seeing in the Emergency Department,” he said.

At the same forum, Longview Officer Ryan Blonien said, “Young people in this community are coming upon these prescription drugs by going to the medicine cabinet.”

The coalition modeled the program after similar take-back programs in Clark County and Winston, Ore., McCrady said.

Winston, a city of 5,000 near Roseburg, pioneered a medication take-back program to keep kids from using or selling their parents’ unused prescriptions, said the town’s police chief, Scott Gugel.

Since starting a little over a year ago, the program has collected three big plastic tubs of pills, enabling officials to destroy about 150 pounds of medication, Gugel said.

“It’s been hugely successful” as measured by the volumes of medication collected, he said, though he has not had time to study how much it has cut down on abuse.

“The secondary benefit is that it is not being flushed down the toilet” and entering ecosystems and, eventually, other municipal water systems, he said.

He said Las Vegas and Portland officials have called him about the program. “Sometimes it’s the simple ideas that catch hold,” he said, though he’d prefer if pharmacies took back unused medications instead.

“Until that happens, we’ll continue to do it,” Gugel said.

McCrady is excited that the disposal system is coming together in Longview so quickly.

“Our goal is to provide a safe and clear means to reduce the amount of drugs commonly available to our youth as well as reduce the amount of drugs that end up in our drinking water,” he said.

According to a 2007 report in E Magazine, studies by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency show an increase in pharmaceuticals in the America’s water supply, which the EPA suspects is caused by flushing unwanted pills down the toilet. The medicines are not removed by conventional sewage or municipal water treatment methods.

Pharmaceuticals have been linked to behavioral and sexual mutations in fish, amphibians and birds, according to EPA studies.

Longview’s program is only for prescription drugs. The coalition hopes to work with local businesses to start up a take-back program for unused over-the-counter medication, which can cause death or illness if abused as well as contaminate the water supply.

The $500 system is paid for by the sale of seized property from drug houses, police said.

How it works:

n Bring unused prescriptions in their original containers to the Longview Police Department, corner of 14th Avenue and Hudson Street, during business hours (8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays).

n If you find pills and don’t know if they’re narcotics, take them to a doctor or pharmacy for identification or call the Washington Poison Control Center, 1-800-222-1222.

n In the LPD lobby, remove the drugs from their containers and place in clear plastic bags provided for that purpose.

n If the drug is in liquid form, keep it in the original container and place it in the plastic bag.

n Place the bags in the marked slot in the wall. The drugs will end up in a secure, double-locked drop box and eventually will be destroyed by an EPA-approved method of incineration, the same as drug evidence.