Dangerous “Mystery Box” Game Demands Immediate Action

Mystery boxes evoke images of fun and games. Suppose, however, the Mystery Box was full of used needles containing different forms of drugs. Several months ago, I was unwittingly thrust between a Confidential Informant (who had lost faith in their contact) and Law Enforcement. Now, that issue has been handled through appropriate channels and I can report what I discovered while researching this bizarre but all too real claim. There is a growing market for "Sharps Containers" (those red boxes you see in doctor's offices and hospital rooms). A person buys the whole container and then takes several of the needles, injects them, and waits to see what happens. Later, they’ll grab another handful of needles, inject them, and see if something “even better” happens. Real-time exposure to this issue led me to become more interested, disgusted, and outraged about it. Therefore, I sought out some "insiders." First, I needed to know about access. The larger medical facilities like SOMC and Kings Daughters have a very stringent process for safely disposing of these hazardous containers. So, think smaller. Nursing homes pass lots of drugs and have these sharps containers. Although contracts are in place to remove them from the premises, sometimes the contractor only comes once a month. This leaves the facility to store the containers on the property until the hazardous materials contractor arrives. Then comes, storage and accountability. After speaking with the “insiders” it became clear that many facilities, not just nursing homes, keep the full sharps containers in a simple store room. When I asked about tracking the containers, the dates, the number of containers, etc, I got a resounding answer, “No, No, No.” Many of them have no idea how many containers are in the storage closet and don’t cross reference that with the receipt given to them by the disposal companies. No checks, no balances. On the street, these containers fetch between $25 and $100 each. A person would pay $25 for multiple containers to purchase them at wholesale and then sell them at retail for $100. This system eliminates the requirement for the original thief to also act as a seller. They just need a couple of contacts. What is so appealing about jabbing yourself with several different needles just to see what happens? The “why” isn’t easily defined. However, the what, where, and how is very clear. As a community, we need to demand better safeguards for these lucrative sharps containers. We need to see for ourselves how they are stored, secured, and inventoried. If you have a loved one in a nursing home, if you frequent smaller medical facilities, ask them about this growing issue. Many issues are so out of control that they seem impossible to resolve. Our collective effort can stop this hideous and potentially deadly new trend.

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