LISTEN – Parents Advised To Watch Prescription Drugs Around Kids During Spring Break
With spring break coming next week, The Missoula Forum for Children and Youth's Underage Substance Abuse Prevention Coordinator, Brandee Tyree, offers advice to parents about their kids and their proximity to prescription drugs.
"The best thing you can do is keep them up and away," Tyree said. "We prefer to have them locked away and out of sight. Know what prescription drugs you have and how many. They're very easy to access and a little one might accidentally get into them, but if you keep them up and away and locked you remove the danger for your home, your kids and your pets."
Tyree said kids who take prescription drugs can be targets.
"They might be targets for theft or people wanting to buy their drugs from them," she said. "They're just so easy and so very hard to detect, so that's another reason why they might be more alluring than drinking during the day."
Tyree said there is a prescription drug take-back day sponsored by the Missoula Police Department.
"On April 30th , you can bring your old prescription drugs to Southgate Mall from 10 a.m. till 2 p.m. and drop them off, no questions asked. You can bring your prescription drugs that you no longer need or are expired and just drop them off."
Tyree also said there are two Missoula drugstores that have in-store drop boxes. They are the Curry Health Center on the University of Montana campus, and at Granite Pharmacy on South Avenue near Community Medical Center.