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Drug Abuse Isn't What You Were Taught In School

CADCA (Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America) held its annual Forum in Washington DC February 2-5. Every year coalitions from all 50 states and several US territories come together to share their ideas, stories, petition Congress for continued support and to learn about the changing trends on the topics of substance abuse. I was very fortunate that I was able to attend this year.

My focus was on prescription and OTC (over-the-counter) drug abuse, especially with youth. I attended many workshops on the issue and all of the attendees heard from the current and past drug czars. While illegal drugs, alcohol, and tobacco use are still very much an issue, prescription and OTC drug use is on the rise. Why? Because the ease of availability. Think about your own home for a moment - where do you keep your bottle of pain reliever? Do you have cold/cough/flu medications in your home? Where do you keep your medications? Are they locked up? I know the answer in my home and many others is “no.” They sit in the medicine cabinet, on top of tables, maybe in a cupboard. 

How easy is it for anyone who comes into your home to access them? And I'm not just talking about pain medications. Those are still being abused but today people are finding ways to use blood pressure medications, OTC pain relievers and pretty much any prescribed medication to get a high. Even things we don't consider to be dangerous like taking Ibuprofen or Tylenol are being consumed in such high quantities to get a high.

As a community we need to increase our awareness of how we store all of our medications, how we dispose of them and keep track of how much we have. The number one fact that was stated at Forum was that prevention is the best way to keep the rate of abuse down. It is more cost effective and has a proven track record of working. So I ask you to take a moment and work for prevention by counting, locking up and properly disposing of all of the medications in your home. Make sure that you're checking the expiration dates on all of your medications. If you have questions about how and where to dispose of your medications contact your pharmacist for more information.
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