Get meds out of kids’ reach!

Quick facts:

• According to Parachute, poisoning is the third-leading cause of unintentional injury hospitalizations for Canadian children aged 14 and under. Medications are the leading cause of poisoning in children.
• Twenty percent (20%) of teens have taken a prescription medication to get high. Seventy-five (75%) said they stole it from home.
• Removing meds from the home can prevent “pharm” parties. (A “pharm” party is a type of party where minors get together to share prescription medicine they’ve stolen to get high; usually from their parents’ medicine cabinet.)
• According to the 2011 OSDUHS: Drug Use Report Highlights, approximately 14% of students report using a prescription opioid* pain reliever non-medically during the year before the survey. This estimate represents about 140,100 students in grades 7 through 12. *(includes Percocet, Percodan, Tylenol #3, Demerol, OxyContin or codeine without a prescription)
• Some of the highest percentage of medication usage comes from kids in higher income families.
• Almost twice as many young people admit to driving after taking drugs over alcohol.
• Forty percent (40%) of kids say they’ve been driven in a car by someone who had just taken drugs.
• Canada has a significantly higher incidence of usage of illicit drugs among 10th and 12th graders than the U.S.

(Source: canadadrugfree.org)