The opioid crisis in this country is fueled by a number of factors, including accessibility and high demand. Consequently, medication theft has escalated in recent years and is often committed by someone the victim knows well and who has easy access to the home. Particularly vulnerable are older adults, who often have opioids and other medications at home, either from a prior surgery or as an active prescription for chronic pain.
Fortunately, the chances of medication theft can be reduced by safely managing and securing medications. Natick residents are strongly encouraged to take an active role in securing access to these medications by taking the following steps:
- Know Your Meds — According to the 2011 National Drug Threat Assessment, opioid painkillers (e.g., Vicodin, OxyContin) are the most widely misused class of controlled prescription medications. Others include central nervous system depressants (e.g., Valium, Xanax), which are used to treat anxiety and sleep disorders, and stimulants (e.g., Ritalin, Adderall), often prescribed for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the sleep disorder narcolepsy, and obesity.
- Dedicate a locked drawer, cabinet or safe for all medications, and keep that drawer locked and the key available only to one or two persons. This solves several critical problems. If you are making medical decisions on behalf of a loved one, please be mindful of the storage and disposal of their medications.
- If helpers are coming and going from the home, locking away medications stops any temptation someone might have to steal narcotics and other drugs that are easy to sell.
- Locking the drawer and restricting access to medications also stops family members, visiting neighbors or friends who may experience substance use disorders from being tempted to “borrow” a few pills.
Medication lock down is particularly important if hospice care is present in the home. Hospice delivers a variety of pain management medications to the home upon admission to hospice. These typically include narcotics, such as vials of morphine and transdermal skin patches (fentanyl and morphine patches), as well as muscle relaxants. These medications are quite valuable as street drugs.
- Safely dispose of prescriptions that you are no longer taking. These may be disposed of in the lobby of the Natick Police Department, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
For more information about proper medication disposal in Natick as well as Natick’s sharps disposal program, please see the Natick Health Department’s website.