Medication Safety
Did you know? Seventy percent of teens who reported abusing prescription medication received them from friends or relatives. Help keep our community and kids safe. Learn how to safely store and dispose of your prescribed medications:
- Place all prescription medications in a locked area where only you have access to them. Not only are medicine cabinets highly accessible, but the humidity that seeps into them can also break down the chemical properties in drugs and make them less effective. Therefore, please do NOT use the medicine cabinet to store any prescription drugs.
- Do not consume expired medications and dispose of them immediately.
- Never give your prescription medications to anyone else, including family and friends.
- Never flush or pour unused medications down a sink or drain
- Ways to dispose of prescription medications once they’re no longer needed:
- Go to your local sheriff’s office and ask for the drug drop-off location. This is the best way to safely dispose of prescription medications.
- If you’re not able to utilize the drug drop-off location with your local sheriff’s office, ask your medical provider for alternatives.
Let’s work together to make our community a safer, healthier place to live. Click here to find a local medication disposal box.
Talk to Your Children about Medications
Parents and guardians should explain the purpose and use of medications to children. For instance, telling them that medications are helpful when we need them, but they can also cause harm if we don’t. And while many medications are made to taste good, they are not treats and should only be taken when given to us by a trusted adult. See the link below for “Is it Candy or Medicine?” as a helpful visual tool.
Useful Links
