Twenty seven percent of seniors at Lyme-Old Lyme High School report it would be “very or sort of easy to obtain a prescription drug without your own prescription.” (Lyme-Old Lyme Youth Survey, Dec. 2015). You have the opportunity to return unwanted medications at this bi-annual event, so that you don’t inadvertently contribute to someone’s misuse of a drug.
Should you miss this Drug Take Back event, you can dispose of your medications at Drug Drop Boxes located in area police stations including Troop F in Westbrook and the East Lyme Police Station in Niantic.
The misuse of prescription pain relievers and tranquilizers is more prevalent in the U.S. than use of all types of illicit drugs, except marijuana. These medications are readily available in many home medicine cabinets and are easily diverted, misused and abused.
According to the Center for Disease Control, drug overdose deaths now kill more Americans than car crashes. Prescription pain pills are driving the increase in overdoses. Studies show that the majority of young people who abuse medicines obtain their supply from family and friends.