Currently Project Director for our Prescription Fraud & Diversion Grant

Having a drawer full of prescription medications has become somewhat common in many households. Many of us are guilty of opening the bathroom cabinet or drawer without paying much attention to what is inside. Personally prescribed to us by a licensed physician for a legitimate illness, medicine bottles appear seemingly harmless as they lay in wait for their hour of need. But a closer look at the issue of prescription abuse and proper disposal begs us to be more mindful of the contents.

While prescribed medicines can have great benefit, they do come with risks you may not have considered. Ask yourself the following questions: without looking could you list the nature, purpose, age, and remaining quantity of medicine in your home?  Do you know how to properly dispose of the particular medicine you have?  Would you notice if any were missing? Are there young children in the home that could mistake them for something sweet? Are there young adults with access that may take them for recreational purposes?  These are all questions we should ask ourselves as we take inventory of our medicine cabinet.

When prescription medicines are utilized by someone other than the patient prescribed for or when such medicines are obtained through illicit means, it becomes an illegal substance. The abuse of prescription medicine has unfortunately become a national crisis with its illegal usage surpassing marijuana use as the most widely used illegal substance.  Treatment admissions for such abuse have skyrocketed from the mid 1990’s over 300% according to most research. In most cases, the abuse begins when the medicine is originally taken for legitimate purposes and then dependency is formed. The use of such medicines by youth for recreational purposes is a serious issue and largely preventable. National studies indicate approximately 50% of youth 12 years and older obtained pain relievers from friends or relatives. People with young adults in their home or with access should not leave their medicine in easily accessible areas and must be responsive if medication appears to be missing.

Proper disposal of medicine is something to consider. Simply throwing medicines in the trash or flushing them down the toilet does not end the risk these medicines pose. Either animals or people have been known for rummaging through trash. Read the bottle to determine if flushing is acceptable. If flushing is mentioned as an acceptable disposal method, you should mix the substance with an undesirable one (such as kitty litter or used coffee grounds) and place the mixture into a disposable sealable container or bag. Ensure you remove any personal information from the bottle itself, especially if refills remain. Environmentally speaking, studies have shown that flushing medicines through the toilet do have an environmental impact, particularly with commonly used medicines in areas of high population density.

Another option in proper disposal is to participate in a “medicine take back” event that allow citizens to ‘drop-off’ their unused and unwanted medications. These events are particularly convenient for people who stockpile medicine because they are not sure what to do with it when it is no longer needed. Beginning last year, the Sheriff’s Office began partnering with community organizations to sponsor “Operation Medicine Drop”.  During a typical event 20,000-30,000 pills are collected. The oldest prescription dropped off was over thirty years old and in a glass bottle.

Reducing the potential for pharmaceutical abuse can be accomplished through individual and community responsibility. Take the time to clean our your medicine cabinet and safely dispose of unwanted medicines to protect yourself, those with access to your home, and Mother Nature.