Caitlin Russell, a Saint Louis County health educator, told a Northern St. Louis County workgroup meeting that the county's new "Up and Away" campaign aims to reduce accidental ingestions among young children by encouraging families to store medications and cannabis "up and away."

Russell said surveillance for accidental pediatric ingestions (children 5 and under) showed a notable rise from 2023 to 2024, and that the county launched a lockbox initiative in 2024 to address the problem. "We started offering free medication lockboxes to families in Saint Louis County," she said, and reported the county ordered about 1,200 lockboxes in 2024, obtained funding for another 1,200 this fall and has distributed roughly 1,500 boxes since the campaign began.

The campaign is funded with cannabis-substance-use-prevention grant dollars (CSUP) and was produced with a local partner, Wonder Horse. Russell described the materials included with each lockbox: poison-control information, cannabis education, resources for grandparents and parents, and safe-medication-disposal tools. She emphasized the program is non-stigmatizing: "We don't wanna be stigmatizing with these lock boxes. We don't care what you put in them," Russell said.

Meeting participants viewed a 30-second ad that included the line, "Store them up and away every time," and Russell said the county will run the ad through February and retain the creative for future campaigns if funding allows. She asked partners to share distribution opportunities; several attendees requested extra boxes for clinics and offices, and Russell said new partner organizations typically receive an initial 10 lockboxes and can request more using a form she will circulate.

Attendees also discussed whether lockboxes could be offered as part of jail exit kits for people leaving custody. Russell said she would raise that option with jail contacts and that distribution quantities are adjustable based on demand.

The county will circulate the ad link and a request form to the workgroup and will continue to make lockboxes available at county government-service centers in Duluth, Hibbing, Virginia and Ely.

Next steps: the campaign will continue through February, Russell will share the video and distribution request form with the group, and staff said they will follow up by email with meeting materials and statistics.