Half empty tubes of toothpaste, scattered Q-tips, dry eye drops—these common items are often carelessly tossed into our medicine cabinets on a daily basis—all next to that bottle of prescription pain relievers that was never finished after your knee surgery a couple months ago. More and more, we are considering the safety of our medicine cabinets at home, especially if we have children or teens.
Although most people take prescription medications as prescribed by their doctor, according to our 2019 youth survey of over 2,000 Cortland County 7th-12th graders, 3.2% of teens reported using a prescription drug without a prescription at least one time in the past 30 days.
The most common place Cortland County teens who used prescription pain relievers report accessing them is at home. This is where you come in—as a parent, you are able to physically prevent your teen from accessing prescription drugs with a few simple steps.
Here is what you can do THIS MONTH!
#1: Lock your medicine cabinet: Prevent others from using your medications by securing it in a place children and others cannot access.
#2: Take Inventory: Routinely take inventory of the type and amount of medications you currently have and check regularly to ensure that nothing is missing.
#3: Educate Yourself: Talk to your teen about the importance of following a doctor’s orders and not using another person’s prescriptions.
#4: Proper Disposal: Dispose of unused medications at a community drop box site or disposal event
A Cortland community-wide prescription drug Take Back Event is scheduled for Saturday, September 26th, 2020. This is the perfect opportunity to safely dispose of any medications you have been holding on to.
Your unused or expired prescription medications, over the counter medications, and pet medications can be dropped off at Cortlandville Fire Department from 9AM-1PM or Homer Town Hall from 9AM-12PM.
If you are unable to make this event, you can safely dispose of your medications at any of the following year round Cortland County drop box sites:
- Cortland County Sheriff’s Department
- City of Cortland Police Department
- Village of Homer Police Department
- SUNY Cortland Police Department
- Cortland Guthrie Medical Center Emergency Room
Follow Cortland Area Communities That Care on Facebook for updates about future Take Back Events. They typically occur twice a year, in April and September.
