New Jersey Police Urge Parents to Prevent Prescription Drug Abuse

Over 400 police departments and other law enforcement agencies across New Jersey (in collaboration with the Partnership for a Drug Free New Jersey, the DEA and the state Attorney General's Office) are launching a new program to help parents prevent teen abuse of prescription drugs. The program, Operation Medicine Cabinet, provides locations where citizens can drop off unused prescription medications for safe disposal by law enforcement.

Angelo Valente, executive director of the Partnership for a Drug Free New Jersey, commented: "With Operation Medicine Cabinet, we are calling on residents to see their medicine cabinets through new eyes -- as an access point for potential misuse and abuse of over-the-counter and prescription medicine by young people."

According to a recent survey by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, prescription pain relievers have become more accessible to most young people than beer. The survey also found that for a majority of teens, the most common way to find those pills is to take them from their parents' medicine cabinets.

(Source: www.nj.com)

Labels: painkillers, prescription-drug-abuse, teen drug abuse

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