A Drug Dealer in your own medicine cabinet? You?

This week we have been working on a 4 part series of blog posts for The Mommies Network for education on the upcoming DEA "Take Back Day" April 28th, 2012. As parents and health providers we are the gatekeepers of many dangerous substances and do not even realize it. Today's society of kids and teens are so much smarter that we were ever at that age, so they are very aware of what lurks in the medicine cabinet at home. Are you are a drug dealer and don't even know it?

AWARxE is an awesome resource website. AWARERX.ORG is an information source providing authoritative resources about medication safety, prescription drug abuse, medication disposal, and safely buying medications on the Internet. 

Inspiration for AWARxE: The Story of Justin Pearson

Justin Pearson’s story was the inspiration for the AWARxE consumer protection program. Justin Pearson, a resident of St Cloud, MN, died tragically at age 24 because of a prescription drug overdose. Justin died on December 25, 2006, after taking a mix of prescription drugs, which he ordered from an illegal Web site. Web sites like these are illegal and sell prescription drugs without requiring prescriptions from the doctor. In Justin’s case, he was able to easily order drugs from an illegal Web site and the drugs were mailed to him. Taking the drugs without a doctor’s prescription, and mixing a high dose of different prescription drugs led to Justin’s death.
For more information about Justin’s story, please visit Justin’s Web page at jvp1.com.
AWARERX.ORG aims to prevent more tragic stories like Justin’s by providing information that will raise AWARxEness among consumers.

Become AWARxE!

“Prescription” Does Not Mean the Drugs are Safe For Everyone!
Many teens believe that taking prescription drugs to get high is safer than using street drugs. Be AWARxE! Prescription drugs are dangerous when they are not used correctly as directed by a doctor.

• One in five teens have taken a prescription drug that was not theirs to get high or to deal with problems.
• Teens are abusing pain pills (Vicodin^®, OxyContin^®), stimulants (Ritalin^®, Adderall^®), and tranquilizers (Xanax^®, Valium^®).
• Teens take these drugs right out of the medicine cabinet – at home, at a friend’s house, or when visiting family.
• 5.2 million people, including kids ages 12 and older, said they had abused prescription pain relievers, as reported in a 2007 survey.
• More people are visiting the emergency room because they misused prescription pain medication. From 2004 to 2009, emergency room visits due to misusing narcotic pain pills increased by almost 100%.

Be AWARxE! Prescription medications should only be used when your doctor prescribes them for you. Follow your doctor’s directions when taking prescription medications – make sure to take the correct amount of medication each day. Ask your doctor or pharmacist when you have questions taking drugs that are prescribed for you.

Learn How to Protect Yourself, Family, and Friends.

How can misusing the drug products in your medicine cabinet harm you, your family, or your friends? Medications can provide great health benefits when used as the doctor ordered, but there are big risks when they are abused or not taken as directed. Click on Get Informed to find facts about the dangers of misusing or abusing prescription and over-the-counter drugs.

Illegal Prescription Drugs Were Deadly for Justin Pearson – Read Justin’s Story

Justin Pearson, a resident of St Cloud, MN, died tragically at age 24 because of a prescription drug overdose. Justin died on December 25, 2006, after taking a mix of prescription drugs which he ordered from an illegal Web site. Web sites like these are illegal and sell prescription drugs without requiring prescriptions from the doctor. In Justin’s case, he was able to easily order drugs from an illegal Web site and the drugs were mailed to him. Taking the drugs without a doctor’s prescription, and mixing a high dose of different prescription drugs led to Justin’s death.
Justin Pearson’s story was the inspiration for the AWARxE campaign. For more information, please visit Justin’s Web page at jvp1.com.
Get informed and learn how to prevent more stories like Justin’s. Read more about Not Recommended Web Sites and VIPPS Recommended Internet Pharmacies from NABP.


What's in your medicine cabinet? you might need to start looking and reevaluate how you keep meds and store them away from small children and teens.