Secure your prescription drugs to prevent anyone else from unintentionally accessing them.
Avoid using a nightstand, kitchen counter or bathroom to store medications. Instead, install a lock on a kitchen cabinet, use a safe, or purchase a lockbox to store your medications.
Young children are not the only ones at risk of finding and using potentially harmful prescription drugs. Anyone who uses a medication not prescribed to them is in danger of harmful drug effects or potentially developing an addiction to the medication.
Nationally, 51.3% of people ages 12 and older who misuse prescription drugs report obtaining the drugs from someone they know.
Source: SAMHSA
Of Kansas teens who report misusing prescription drugs, 74% say they obtain those drugs from friends or family.
The most common way people access prescription drugs from family and friends is through sharing. It is against the law to share your controlled substance medication with anyone.
Sources: NIH and FDA