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Coalition Seeks to Curb Problem of Drug Theft at Open Houses

A coalition of businesses, nonprofits and San Diego real estate professionals has banded together to prevent prescription drug theft at open houses. Key to the group’s mission is ensuring the safe use, storage and disposal of prescription drugs.

Joining the Greater San Diego Association of Realtors to form the “Safe Homes Coalition” is Poway-based Millennium Laboratories Inc., which conducts urine-based testing en masse for drug compliance and misuse, as well as the San Diego County Prescription Drug Abuse Task Force and others. The group is working with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department and the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office.

“The reports of people removing prescription medications from open houses made it apparent that real estate professionals can be the first line of defense in preventing thefts of these medications,” San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said.

Prescription drug abuse is the country’s fastest-growing drug problem, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — up 300 percent since 1999. In 2012, 268 people died from prescription drug overdose in the region, up 22 percent from 2008, according to the San Diego County Prescription Drug Abuse Task Force.

“Prescription drug abuse is the leading cause of unintended deaths in San Diego County,” District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said. “That’s why we need as many groups as possible working to curtail abuse and misuse.”

Assessing Problem’s Scope

The association has long worked with the county district attorney’s office, as well as the FBI, to tackle real estate fraud issues. Some of the instances of prescription medicine theft were ferreted out when drug users and dealers were detained by police — and many said they were getting them out of homes.

However, despite “getting tons of anecdotal stories on our end,” the coalition has yet to pinpoint how big of a problem prescription drug theft from open houses really is, said Leslie Kilpatrick, president of the San Diego Association of Realtors. She is launching a survey to help gauge how common prescription drug theft is in these settings.

“When we listed homes, we would talk to people about removing personal items, like jewelry, cash and other small items of value,” Kilpatrick said. “Now, we’ll tell them to add prescription drugs to the mix.”

While drug abuse is plentiful and problematic, medication theft can have a direct impact on homeowners themselves.

“Some people are taking very, very expensive meds for serious illnesses, like cancer, and losing them can be devastating,” Kilpatrick said. It can also sour the experience of selling one’s home.

Rather than approaching homeowners directly, the association is educating its network of 12,000 San Diego area Realtors. It has launched a public service announcement, which it has posted online and will air on local television and radio stations. It has also printed 10,000 plastic bags with educational messaging, and has earmarked these bags for prescription drug disposal.

Indeed, the campaign is highlighting proper disposal options for prescription meds — including national Take Back Days, like one scheduled April 26, that invite individuals to drop off unused medications at local sheriffs’ offices.

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