KIDS USE
YOUR OLD PRESCRIPTIONS
Parents have a lot to worry about these days. The media is full of stories of children
whose lives have gone astray. And
watchful parents try their best to protect their children from illicit
substances and bad influences. There’s a
lot to keep a parent up at night. Will
your child succumb to peer pressure and drink at parties? Will they be exposed
to illegal drugs on the playground? Will they become an addict?
What if your child thought he didn’t need to do that because your
own prescription drugs were so easily available? The Partnership for a Drug Free America
reports, “The number one source of drugs that teenagers abuse is their own home
medicine cabinet. Kids tell us in
surveys that there is enough supply at home, at grandma's house; that they don't
have to buy them."
The Partnership for a Drug Free America estimates there’s
approximately 200 pounds of unused medications gathering dust in medicine
cabinets. In 2011, roughly 1.7 million
youths admitted to the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA) that they took prescription pills out of their family
members’ medicine cabinets. This
represents a reduction by nearly 300,000.
"These findings show that national efforts to
address the problem of prescription drug misuse may be beginning to bear fruit
and we must continue to apply this pressure to drive down this and other forms
of substance use," SAMHSA Administrator Pamela Hyde said in an agency news
release.
NATIONAL
PHARMACEUTICAL TAKE BACK DAY- TURN IN YOUR OLD MEDICATIONS
To support these campaigns against prescription drug
abuse, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has scheduled a National
Pharmaceutical “Take Back Day.” On
September 29, 2012 from 10am- 2pm you’ll be able to drop off these old
prescriptions at a local center. To find a local prescription drop off center,
call 800-882-9539.
By turning in your old medications, you could potentially be
saving the life of your child. Often, we
don’t think about what’s really lurking in our medicine cabinet. Oxycodone from your ankle repair surgery,
Vicodin from last year’s dental work, Percocet left over from your elective
surgery… It could all be in there. Clean out your medicine cabinet today so you
can protect your children from accidental overdoses.
If your child overdoses on medications, seek help
immediately. But if you find that you’d
like to consult an attorney to review your legal options, we’re here for
you.
