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Prescription Drugs
Prescription Drug Misuse and Abuse
Prescription drugs can bring many benefits to those who need them. The challenge is that some prescription drugs can be addicting or cause adverse reactions if misused or abused. When talking to children and teens about prescription drugs, it's important to reinforce that they should only use prescription drugs prescribed to them and only use the amount and frequency as instructed by the doctor. There are a variety of classes of prescription drugs that are commonly misused and abused. Information about those substances are available below.
Opioids, Opiates, and Pain Killers
Opioids or opiates are the names used to describe pain killers such as Percocet, Oxycontin, and Oxycodone (among others). These substances are highly addictive, easy to overdose on, and could lead to heroin use.
Chasing the Dragon- DEA/FBI film about the Lives of Opiate Addicts (*contains obscene language)
Safe Disposal of Prescription Drugs
Decreasing access to prescription drugs is one way to prevent children and teens from misusing and abusing them. Many people have unused prescription drugs stashed away in a medicine cabinet or somewhere else in the house. It's important to regularly dispose of these, but dispose of them safely. You should never flush unused prescriptions down the toilet or simply put them in the trash. View the resources below for how to safely dispose of them and keep your whole family, and the environment, safe!