Do you know what is in your medicine cabinet?   Do you have prescription drugs left over from dental surgery or the time you threw out your back – just in case it happens again?  Do you know how many of those pills you have in the bottle?  Chances are if you live with a teen, they know exactly what you have in your cabinet and that you won’t notice a pill gone here and there – a pill that is worth $20-$40 and makes them the life of the party.

Two-thirds of teens who report abuse of prescription medicine are getting them from friends, family and acquaintances. Make sure the teens in your life don’t have access to your medicine. ANY LAB TEST NOW has joined forces with the Partnership at Drugfree.org’s Medicine Abuse Project to help educate our communities about this growing problem.

WHAT IS IT?

This initiative will kick-off a multi-year program designed to educate the public about the dangers of prescription drug abuse.

• Every day, more than 2,000 kids use prescription drugs to get high for the first time

• Prescription medicines are now the most commonly abused drugs by 12-13 year olds

• Unintentional drug poisoning is now the leading cause of accidental death in the United States.

WHAT CAN I DO?

STEP 1: MONITOR

Parents are in an influential position to immediately help reduce teen access to prescription medicine because medicine is commonly found in the home. But 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.

Make sure your friends and relatives — especially grandparents — are also aware of the risks. Encourage them to regularly monitor their own medicines.

Give your child another reason to say no to peer pressure and ensure they are safe by regularly testing your teens for drugs with ANY LAB TEST NOW’s Trust but, Verify Program. To find a local ANY LAB TEST NOW in your area, go to www.anylabtestnow.com/locations/.

 STEP 2: SECURE

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.

 STEP 3: DISPOSE

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.

Unbelievable as it may seem, teenagers will retrieve discarded prescription medicine from the trash. Find a medicine take-back location near you to ensure they are safely discarded.

Visit www.anylabtestnow.com/medicineabuseproject/ for more information.