Crime & Safety
Overdose in Clarendon Hills Highlights Danger of Prescription Drugs
An incident earlier this month serves as an example of why unused prescription drugs should be properly disposed of and why witnesses to an overdose should not hesitate to call the authorities.
Deputy Chief Boyd Farmer of the Clarendon Hills Police Department says a recent incident of drug overdose in town serves as a reminder of why unused prescription medications should be disposed of.
At 3:52 a.m. on Oct. 18, Clarendon Hills police responded to a report of a possible Xanax overdose in the 100 block of Oxford Avenue. According to reports, a 20-year-old Burr Ridge man, a friend of the family, had come to the house at 10:30 p.m. to play a board game, but upon arrival was slow and showed signs of "being on something." Police were told that in the past he had been addicted to the anti-anxiety medication.
He eventually became unresponsive, and after waiting for an hour, the family called 911. When paramedics arrived, the man's breathing was labored and sporadic and it appeared as if he had vomited through his nose. Farmer said he had indeed overdosed and his blood-oxygen level was at 30 percent.
Clarendon Hills Fire Department paramedics transported the patient to Adventist Hinsdale Hospital, where he made a full recovery.
Though it is not known where the Xanax came from in this case, Farmer said the incident is an example of why unused prescription medications should be brought in to the department to be properly disposed of.
Often a person who is prescribed painkillers or other drugs will need them for short time, and then leave them in their medicine cabinet.
"Now it's readily available for anybody who uses that bathroom," Farmer said.
RELATED: Hinsdale PD Taking Part in National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day
The deputy chief said it's also important that, in the case of an overdose, authorities be contacted immediately. Charges were not pressed against anybody in the Xanax overdose case, and Farmer says it's important that people know that, unless there appears to be wrongdoing, witnesses to an overdose won't be charged.
Unused prescription drugs can be turned in to Clarendon Hills police year-round.
"We [dispose of prescription drugs] any day of the year, 24 hours per day," Farmer said.
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