Safely Dispose Your Medicines - Sat. 4/26/14, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Make sure the teens in your life don't have access to your medicine. Read on to find out how to monitor, secure and properly dispose of unused and expired prescription (Rx) and over-the-counter (OTC) cough medicine in your home:

How aware are you of the quantities that are currently in your home?

• Start by taking note of how many pills are in each of your prescription bottles or pill packets and keep track of your refills.
• If your teen has been prescribed a medicine, be sure you control the medicine, and monitor dosages and refills.
• Make sure your friends and relatives — especially grandparents — are also aware of the risks. Encourage them to regularly monitor their own medicines.

• Take prescription medicine out of the medicine cabinet and secure them in a place only you know about.
• If possible, keep all medicines, both prescription and over-the-counter, in a safe place, such as a locked cabinet your teen cannot access. A good tip would be to safeguard these drugs the same way you would cash or expensive jewelry in your home.
• Tell relatives, especially grandparents, to lock up their medicine or keep them in a safe place.

• Take an inventory of all of the medicine in your home. Start by discarding expired or unused Rx and OTC medicine when your teens are not home.
• Teenagers will retrieve discarded prescription medicine from the trash. To help prevent this from happening, mix the medicine with an undesirable substance, such as used coffee grounds or kitty litter.
• Do not flush medicine down the toilet or sink drain.
• To help prevent unauthorized refills and protect your family’s privacy, remove any personal, identifiable information from prescription bottles or pill packages before you throw them away.
• Learn more about safeguarding and disposing of medicine and find a medicine take-back location near you by visiting The Medicine Abuse Project.

Find a location to drop off your medicines

The National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications.

Find a Collection Site Near You