Stop Medicine Abuse: New Website

Medicine abuse and teens unfortunate is not new, but this year www.StopMedicineAbuse.org rolled out a new and updated website full of educational tools, downloads, brochures, posters, and other resources to help your and your family and community fight medicine abuse.

About them:

The prevention campaign StopMedicineAbuse.org and its Five Moms initiative is working to alert parents and members of the community about the problem of teen abuse of over-the-counter (OTC) cough medicines containing dextromethorphan (DXM).

In 2004, national surveys began to track abuse of over-the-counter (OTC) cough medicine among teens. Experts predicted, “abuse among adolescents most likely will increase, as the drug is relatively easy to obtain and inexpensive.  Moreover, adolescents perceive the risk in abusing the drug as low.”
This was a call to action.

To fight the potential rise of teen DXM use, the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) launched the Five Moms: Stopping Cough Medicine Abuse campaign to raise awareness about teen DXM abuse and offer peer-to-peer guidance on how to prevent it. Following the success of the Five Moms campaign, CHPA created StopMedicineAbuse.org to serve as the online home for Five Moms and provide valuable resources for parents and their communities. Together, these initiatives have reached millions of parents to date.

April 28th is National Prescription Drug Take Back Day

Getting rid of unused, unwanted prescription medications can help prevent the misuse or abuse of these drugs. Since many homes end up with unwanted or expired prescription medications, including controlled substances, such as certain pain medications and ADHD drugs, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has coordinated drug take-back events across the country. Consumers are encouraged to use this unique opportunity to safely and legally dispose of any unneeded pills, including controlled substance medications, as these pills can only be accepted for disposal when law enforcement is present.

The next DEA coordinated National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day will take place on Saturday, April 28, 2012, 10 AM - 2 PM. DEA drug take-back events provide a safe means for the disposal of unwanted, unused prescription medications. DEA coordinates with local law enforcement agencies so that drug take-back sites can accept controlled substances for authorized disposal.

Now available online, the DEA National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day collection site locator allows consumers to search for a convenient location to dispose of unneeded medications, on Saturday, April 28, 2012. Thousands of DEA-coordinated collection sites across the country will accept unwanted, unneeded, and expired prescription medications, including controlled substances, for safe disposal. Check the DEA collection site locator often, as new locations will be added until April 28, 2012.

DEA reminds consumers that the take-back service is free and anonymous, with no questions asked. Sites will accept tablets, capsules, and all other solid dosage forms of unwanted medication. Personal information may be blacked out on prescription bottles, or medications may be emptied from the bottles into the bins provided at the events.

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