One of the biggest contributing factors to prescription drug misuse is easy accessibility. For most teens, it is as simple as opening the medicine cabinet. There are some easy steps adults can take to make it more difficult for teens to acquire prescription medications:
- Ask your pharmacist if any of your prescriptions can be misused.
- Lock up prescription medications in a cabinet, drawer, or medicine lockbox out of the reach of children and pets.
- Store medicine in its original containers. The label contains important information about dosage, side effects, and expiration dates.
- Keep an inventory list of all of the prescription medications in your house. Do a periodic check (at least twice a year) to see if any medications are missing or expired.
- Keep your medicine in a cool, dark place to maintain the integrity of the medicine.
- Check with your pharmacist or local law enforcement about proper drug disposal and drug take-back events.
- Don’t share prescription medications with other members of the household. Children mimic the behavior of adults. If they see you sharing medications with other adults in the household, teens will assume it is safe for anyone to take them.
Safely disposing of expired or unnecessary medication is a vital part of curbing the misuse of prescription drugs. A safe method for disposing of medication is community drug take-back events. Residents of Stone and Taney counties also have access to several permanent drug drop boxes located at:
- Branson Police Department, 110 W. Maddux St., Ste. 100, Branson, MO 65616, available 24/7/365
- Hollister Police Department, 240 Hollister Pointe Dr., Hollister, MO 65672, available 24/7/365
- Kimberling City Police Department, 34 Kimberling Blvd, Kimberling City, MO 65686
- Stone County Sheriff’s Office, 110 S. Maple, Galena, MO 65656
- Taney County Sheriff’s Office, 266 Main St., Forsyth, MO 65653, available 24/7/365
- CoxHealth Pharmacy, 525 Branson Landing Blvd., Branson, MO 65616, Mon-Fri, 8:00 am to 8:00 pm, Sat, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
- Rockaway Beach Police Department, 2762 State Hwy 176, Rockaway Beach, MO 65740, Mon-Fri, 9:30 am to 5:30 pm
- CVS Pharmacy, 105 Loyd Rd., Branson, MO 65616, open Mon-Sun, 9:00 am to 10:00 pm
Most of these boxes are available 24 hours a day. All are anonymous and accessible free of charge.
An additional option for safely disposing of medication is through the use of medication destruction packets. These packets are designed to deactivate the medications, making them safe to dispose of in the trash and are biodegradable. Packets may be provided at no cost by your pharmacy or healthcare provider. The packets can also be purchased at most pharmacies. If you are a resident of Stone County or Taney County, you can access free packets by emailing Marietta Hagan at Marietta.Hagan@coxhealth.com. You can also find hundreds of drug disposal locations on our resource map that can be found under Grab a Life Ring/Find Help or by clicking here.
It is no longer recommended that you flush any medications down the toilet or sink. Sewage systems cannot remove these substances from water released into lakes, rivers and oceans which means they can end up in your drinking water.
