Improper Drug Disposal Dangers
If you’ve recently had surgery, a serious injury, or an ongoing medical problem, chances are you have a few pills laying around in a medicine cabinet. You might not even remember having them since they’ve been shoved behind those bottles of ibuprofen and omeprazole. Prescription pills lying around instead of adequately disposed of raises dangers for your family. Proper drug disposal is critical.
You may be keeping old prescription drugs around in case of an emergency or because you don’t want to throw away good money. You may have simply forgotten to throw them out. If you are keeping them around to take recreationally, well, let’s just say you wouldn’t be the first person to try it. There’s a reason people reach out to prescription painkiller detox centers in Florida.
No matter what your reasons are, you probably don’t think keeping unused drugs around is a big deal. But if you stop and think about it for a moment, you will realize that you’re taking a massive risk by not disposing of your prescription pills. Think about who else has access to your medicine cabinet, your children and house guests.
Drug Diversion Fuels the Black Market, Teen Addiction
The movement of prescription drugs from people with a valid prescription to others without a valid prescription is called “drug diversion.” This sort of interaction is not the stuff of drug dealers and gangsters. Normal people practice drug diversion every day without understanding the consequences.
That’s why the easiest way for young people to get drugs doesn’t even require them to leave the house. The majority of young people get their drugs from a friend or family member, i.e. in their own home. What’s more terrifying is that many teens don’t even believe prescription drugs are addicting, and in most cases, don’t comprehend what it means to use these drugs in a way that is safe and responsible.
Drug Disposal Options
There are several ways to safely dispose of your drugs before they fall into the wrong hands. Many communities have “take back” days where the police, doctors, and medical workers collect unused prescriptions. If you need to dispose of drugs at home, consider flushing or throwing them away in the trash.
Some medicines are safe to flush down the sink or toilet. Check the label and dispose of the medication as directed when no longer needed.
Almost all medicines, other than those that require flushing, can be thrown away in household trash. When disposing of drugs in the trash, remove them from their original packaging and mix them into undesirable pieces of trash. Mixing medicines into used coffee grounds or cat litter makes them less appealing or recognizable to people and pets alike.
In any case, please check the FDA’s flush list for safe drug disposal.
Drug Detox in Florida
If you or a loved one began abusing prescription pills, contact Serenity House Detox & Recovery for treatment. You don’t have to suffer the consequences of drug addiction.
Serenity House Detox & Recovery provides specialized substance abuse detox programs, including:
- Prescription painkiller detox
- Prescription drug detox in FL
- Opiate or opioid detox in Ft. Lauderdale
- Oxycodone detox program
- Benzodiazepine detox in FL
Call detox specialists at 866.294.5306 today to discuss addiction treatment in Florida.
