Photo courtesy of Babak Fakhamzadeh (Creative Commons 2.0 license)

Lock Up Your Medicine

You may be a drug source for your children without knowing it. The CDC lists prescription drug abuse as the fastest-growing drug problem among 12-17 year olds. Lock up your medicine to be safe.

Some Drug Statistics You May Not Know

• One in five high school students in the U.S. admits to having taken a prescription drug without a prescription.
• The number of teens going into treatment for addiction to prescription drugs has increased by more than 300%.
• Emergency room visits for prescription drug abuse have more than doubled since 2004, and 48% of all ER hospital visits for prescription drug abuse are by young people ages 12-20.
• Prescription drugs are now involved in more overdose deaths than heroin and cocaine, combined.

How to Dispose of Prescription Medicine Safely

To dispose of prescription drugs not labeled to be flushed, you may be able to take advantage of community drug take‐back programs or other programs, such as household hazardous waste collection events, that collect drugs at a central location for proper disposal.

To Dispose of Prescription Drugs At Home

• Take your prescription drugs out of their original containers.
• Mix drugs with an undesirable substance, such as cat litter or used coffee grounds.
• Put the mixture into a disposable container with a lid, such as an empty margarine tub, or into a sealable bag.
• Conceal or remove any personal information, including Rx number, on the empty containers by covering it with black permanent marker or duct tape, or by scratching it off.
• Place the sealed container with the mixture, and the empty drug containers, in the trash.