DEA Sponsoring Prescription Drug 'Take Back' Day Across Colorado
DENVER (CBS4) - More teens admit to participating in the dangerous trend of misusing prescription drugs, and this weekend there's a way to get rid of that potential danger.
Parents need to talk with their teens about abusing prescription drugs -- specifically, Ritalin, Adderall, as well as other prescription drugs.
According to a survey, just 14 percent of teens said they talked about abusing prescription drugs with parents. By comparison, 81 percent of teens said they have talked about the risks of marijuana with their parents. Almost the same number said they have discussed alcohol with parents, and almost 1/3 said they have talked about crack and cocaine.
One in four teens said they had misused or abused a prescription drug at least once. That's a 33 percent increase in the last five years. One in eight teens reported misusing or abusing the drugs Ritalin or Adderall.
The research also found that parents are a part of the problem. One in six parents said using prescription drugs to get high is safer than using street drugs. Almost 1/3 of the parents said attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medications such as Ritalin or Adderall can improve a child's academic or testing performance even if the teen does not have ADHD. And parents believe that prescription drugs were probably a safer way to go compared to illegal street drugs.
The survey involved nearly 3,900 teens in grades nine through 12 at public, private and parochial schools, along with more than 800 parents who participated in "at-home" interviews.
For parents who want to clean out their medicine cabinets of any type of prescription drugs, the Drug Enforcement Administration and Justice Department is sponsoring a "take-back" day. Collection sites will be set up around the state on this Saturday, April 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. where people can safely get rid of unwanted medicine – no questions asked.
Locations:
- Fort Collins: Fort Collins Police Services, 2221 South Timberline Road and Colorado State University, Green Hall, 750 South Meridian Ave.
- Estes Park: Rocky Mountain Pharmacy, 453 East Wonderview Avenue
- Loveland: Loveland Police Department, 810 East 10th Street
- Wellington: Wellington Fire Station #1, 8130 3rd Street
- Windsor: 200 North 11th
- Red Feather: Fire Station at 44 Firehouse Lane
- Boulder County: Boulder County Sheriff's Office Headquarters, 5600 Flatiron Parkway
- Wheat Ridge: Exempla Lutheran Medical Center, 8300 West 38th Avenue, (Entrance #2)
- Aurora: Aurora Municipal Center, east side, 15151 East Alameda Parkway and The Medical Center of Aurora, north parking lot, 1501 South Potomac Street
- Brush: East Morgan County Hospital, main lobby, 2400 West Edison Street
