National Prescription Take Back Day Oct 29th 10 am - 2 pm Drop-off Locations in Washington Metro

From dea.gov: PARTICIPANTS NAME	COLLECTION SITE	ADDRESS	CITY	STATE, ZIP	~DISTANCE
WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPT	THIRD POLICE DISTRIST	1620 V STREET, NW	WASHINGTON	DC, 20009	1 mi.	Map
WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPT	THIRD DISTRICT SUBSTATION	750 PARK ROAD, N.W.	WASHINGTON	DC, 20010	2 mi.	Map
U.S. CAPITOL POLICE	U.S. CAPITOL POLICE HEADQUARTERS COLLECTION BOX LOCATED JUST OUTSIDE D STREET DOOR	119 D STREET, NE	WASHINGTON	DC, 20510	2 mi.	Map
WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPT	FOURTH POLICE DISTRICT	6001 GEORGIA AVENUE, NW	WASHINGTON	DC, 20011	3 mi.	Map
WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPT	FIFTH POLICE DISTRICT	1805 BLADENSBURG ROAD, NE	WASHINGTON	DC, 20002	2 mi.	Map
WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPT	FIRST POLICE DISTRICT	101 M STREET, SW	WASHINGTON	DC, 20024	3 mi.	Map
WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPT	FIRST DISTRICT SUBSTATION	500 E STREET,, SE	WASHINGTON	DC, 20003	3 mi.	Map
UNIVERSITY OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA	UNIVERSITY OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, VAN NESS COME TO DRIVEWAY OFF OF VAN NESS STREET UNDER THE BREEZEWAY	4200 CONNECTICUT AVE NW, BUILDING 39/ROOM C-04	WASHINGTON	DC, 20008	3 mi.	Map
MOUNT RAINER POLICE DEPARTMENT	MOUNT RAINER POLICE DEPARTMENT POC: PFC T. S. CARPENTER #131	FRONT LOBBY 3249 RHODE ISLAND AVENUE	MOUNT RAINIER	MD, 20712	4 mi.	Map
FORT MEYER	HENDERSON HALL MCX	1555 SOUTHGATE ROAD	FORT MYER	VA, 22211	4 mi.	Map
FORT MEYER	FORT MYER PX	210 MCNAIR ROAD	FORT MYER	VA, 22211	4 mi.	Map
BOLLING AIR FORCE BASE	BOLLING AFB EXCHANGE	195 CHAPPIE JAMES BLVD	WASHINGTON	DC, 20032	6 mi.	Map
WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPT	SEVENTH POLICE DISTRICT	2455 ALABAMA AVENUE, SE	WASHINGTON	DC, 20020	4 mi.	Map
WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPT	SIXTH POLICE DISTRICT	100 42ND STREET, NE	WASHINGTON	DC, 20019	5 mi.	Map
WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPT	SECOND POLICE DISTRICT	3320 IDAHO AVENUE, NW	WASHINGTON	DC, 20016	5 mi.	Map
ARLINGTON COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT	ARLINGTON FIRE STATIONS #8	4845 LEE HIGHWAY	ARLINGTON	VA, 22207	6 mi.	Map
ARLINGTON COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT	ARLINGTON FIRE STATIONS #1	500 SOUTH GLEBE ROAD	ARLINGTON	VA, 22207	6 mi.	Map
PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT	SOUTHERN COLLECTION SITE DISTRICT IV, PGPD	5135 INDIAN HEAD HIGHWAY	OXON HILL	MD, 20745	8 mi.	Map
ARLINGTON COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT	ARLINGTON FIRE STATIONS #9	1900 SOUTH WALTER REED DRIVE	ARLINGTON	VA, 22204	6 mi.	Map
ARMY NATIONAL GUARD READINESS CENTER	CHIEF OF STAFF SUPPORT OFFICE ***HELD ON OCTOBER 27-28, 2011 FROM 9:00 A.M. - 2:00 P.M.***	111 SOUTH GEORGE MASON DRIVE	ARLINGTON	VA, 22204	6 mi.	Map
PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT	CENTRAL COLLECTION SITE HEADQUARTERS, PGPD	7600 BARLOWE ROAD	PALMER PARK	MD, 20785	8 mi.	Map
UNIVERSITY OF MD POLICE DEPT OF PUBLIC SAFETY	UNIVERSITY OF MD POLICE DEPT OF PUBLIC SAFETY POC: SGT. AUGUST D. KENNER #162	POLICE HEADQUARTERS BLDG #003 US ROUTE 1 @ ROSSBOROUGH LANE	COLLEGE PARK	MD, 20742	7 mi.	Map
NAVAL CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIVE SERVICE	NCISRA BETHESDA POC: S/A ERIN HANSEN	8901 WISCONSIN AVEBLDG 17, STE B2	BETHESDA	MD, 20889	7 mi.	Map
PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT	NORTHERN COLLECTION SITE DISTRICT I, PGPD	5000 RHODE ISLAND AVENUE	HYATTSVILLE	MD, 20784	8 mi.	Map
MONTGOMERY COUNTY PD	MONTGOMERY COUNTY POLICE 2ND DISTRICT	7359 WISCONSIN AVENUE	BETHESDA	MD, 20814	9 mi.	Map
FALLS CHURCH POLICE DEPARTMENT	CITY OF FALLS CHURCH RECYCLING CENTER NEAR LOADING DOCK	217 GORDON ROAD	FALLS CHURCH	VA, 22046	10 mi.	Map
ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE SECURITY FORCES	ARMY & AIR FORCE EXCHANGE SERVICE BUILDING	ARMY & AIR FORCE EXCHANGE SERVICE BLDG 1811	ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE	MD, 20762	11 mi.	Map

From StopMedAbuse.org

Cough Medicine Abuse: A Checklist for Parents

Teen abuse of over-the-counter (OTC) cough and cold medicines is a widespread and serious issue. But as a parent, you may not have any idea how you can help prevent it. Here’s a list of hands-on advice for what you should do, starting right now.

Know which drugs are being abused. If you are not aware of cough and cold medicine abuse, it’s time to get informed. The biggest problem is with medicines that contain dextromethorphan (often abbreviated as DXM), which is found in more than 125 over-the-counter medicines sold to treat the symptoms of cough and colds.

Learn the slang. Find out what teens are calling these drugs. DXM goes by many names – tussin, skittles, robo, CCC, triple C, dex syrup, and red devils to name a few. If you didn’t know the terminology, you could be missing it when your kids are talking about cough medicine abuse in code.

Look in your medicine cabinet. No parent wants to be a drug supplier for his or her children. Treat your medicine cabinet like your liquor cabinet: track what is in it and how much is used. Just like you did when your child was a baby, it is always advisable to store medications in a place where your kids won’t be able to get them.

Get rid of medicines you don’t use. Don’t keep them around just in case – many are probably expired anyway. If you’re sick and need a cough or combination cold medicine, get only what you need and safely dispose of what’s left when you’re feeling better.

Talk to other parents. Share what you know about cough medicine abuse with other parents, particularly the parents of your teen’s friends. Coordinate your efforts. If you’re cleaning out your medicine cabinet, get the parents of your teen’s friends to do the same. By making it a community effort, you’ll help keep everyone safer.

Model good behavior. You may be careless with how you use medication yourself. If your headache is really bad, you may double the recommended dose. If your back goes out, you might borrow a few narcotic painkillers from a friend who had them left over after dental surgery. All medications are serious and have risks when not taken appropriately. What’s more, your kids are watching. If you don’t treat these medicines with respect – and only use them as recommended – why should you assume your teens will?

Monitor your child’s use of the Internet. Know what your child is looking at on the Internet. There are websites out there that present, in astonishing detail, information about cough medicine abuse with tips on specific dosages and brands.

Think about your community. Even if your children are too young for drug abuse, what about your nieces and nephews? Or babysitters? By clearing your house of unnecessary medication, you’re helping them too.

Talk to your teen. When parents talk to their children about the risks of drugs, it reduces the risk that they will use drugs by 50%. So don’t beat around the bush. Talk to your kids directly about the risks of drug abuse, and mention cough medicine abuse specifically. Just because medicines come from a drugstore or a pharmacist doesn’t mean that they cannot be misused.

Copyright © 2011 StopMedicineAbuse.org, All rights reserved.

Shopping for a doctor

Shopping for a doctor for most people is finding the right doctor to fit their needs. For a prescription drug abuser shopping for a doctor takes on a whole new meaning. Doctor shopping is when a patient seeks multiple doctors to treat the same condition. A patient may have a legitimate condition but usually the urge to doctor shop comes from needing more of the same medication from building up a tolerance leading to addiction.

 A few weeks ago, I caught a patient doctor shopping. Looking back, the patient was always anxious. This patient had all of the signs of a doctor shopper-using multiple pharmacies, always paying cash, and if there was a problem with a prescription just wanting to take the prescription back instead of allowing me to call the doctor to question the prescription. The patient used multiple pharmacies in the same chain; she used other chain pharmacies and some independent pharmacies. When she used pharmacies in the same chain, she knew she had to wait 30 days to fill the controlled medications like Klonpin, Vicodin or Ambien. She tried to always use the same doctor since she knew my chain pharmacy would allow me to look in the computer to see when she last filled the medication and which doctor wrote the prescription.

The laws about waiting for your previous supply of controlled medication is to deter abuse. This patient alerted me when she came to transfer her prescription from other pharmacies. She bought in bottles filled within days of one another of the same medication. When I called the other pharmacies, the pharmacists were shocked that this patient was using multiple pharmacies and multiple doctors. When I spoke to the doctors, one had no idea about the other. The patient had told one doctor not to contact her previous doctor because of a bad relationship. This patient committing a crime but really she needs to admit her problem and get treatment. The amount of medications she is taking will seriously harm her. As a pharmacist, I do not want to get this patient arrested but I was her to get help.

Everything I needed to know I learned in

Wow. We used this tidbit "everything I needed to know I learned in kindergarten" is so true. I just finished reading an article on how prescription drug abuse leads to injectable drugs. The article can be found at http://www.drugfree.org/join-together/addiction/prescription-drug-abuse-gateway-to-injected-drugs-study-suggests. Another important point in this study is how prescription drug abusers also learned at home from other family members abusing prescriptions. This is not new information, but its shocking that parents have the power to truly influence their children and must use this power in the right way. Your parents were your first teachers. What are we teaching our kids?
Prevention is so important. Parents I encourage you to teach your kids starting young about the right way to take medicine. Use your daily vitamins or when your child is sick and needs a pain reliever. Kindergarten is the great age to learn medicine makes you feel better but can also harm you when used incorrectly. This teaching and learning in kindergarten will surely influence this child for the rest of their life.

"Man robs pharmacy"

This past weekend on Father's Day, a man robbed a Melford, NY pharmacy at gunpoint. Police believe his motive was to steal narcotic painkillers. The robber killed two pharmacy employees and two pharmacy customers. This was an extremely brutal crime over some pills. Some pills. Really. I find this terrifying. A man probably addicted to prescription drugs or a street supplier to those addicted to prescription drugs had the audacity to not only rob a pharmacy at gunpoint but to also make sure that there were not witnesses to his crime.
This one story disturbs me but I found something more alarming. I did a google search of "man robs a pharmacy" . 431,000 results were found. The entire first page was filled with stories of men robbing pharmacies with guns, knives, and other deadly weapons all in the past year. To be fair, I also did a search of "woman robs pharmacy". Nearly 400,000 results.
Prescription drug abuse is not hiding. Its out in the open putting innocent people in harms way.

It makes you go hmmm.

I have been a practicing pharmacist in DC for almost two years. I love helping my patients feel better with their medications. I want to believe that everyone is good and always has the best intentions. I also want to think the majority of patients' issues are with not paying attention to their medications and they truely believe that medications are only used when they need them. I know this is not always true; I have been working with drug abuse education and awareness for years now.

I have seen forged prescriptions before but one incident happened where the patient thought I as a pharmacist doing my job was out to get her. Yes, with the rise of people addicted to painkillers and other medications-I am on guard. But as a pharmacist notifying a physician about a patient overusing a medication and talking with a patient about their medication is in fact helping the patient realizing they may potientially have a problem, Painkiller abuse can destory your body. I am worried about your health. Medications are meant to help you feel better and not put you in greater danger.

Depending on the circumstances and counts in DC:
forged prescriptions have a maximum fine of $5,000 and/orimprisonment for up to 5 years

I do not want to see my patients go to jail or destroy their bodies.

Prescription Drugs Receive Top $ on the Streets

Today on CNNMoney.com there was an article about street sales of prescription drugs. Purchasing painkillers or anti-anxiety medications in a pharmacy could maybe cost you $20. There are patients who need these medications to have a decent quality of life. On the streets, these same medications can go for $100. This is appalling. Prescription drug abuse is driving this black market business into a billion dollar industry. According to the DEA, seven million people were abusing prescription medications in 2009. These seven million people are getting their drugs from somewhere. Education and awareness of prescription drug abuse can curb this problem. We have a war on drugs-prescription drugs are included. One can obtain prescription medications legally from a doctor's prescription and a pharmacy. But the supply does not stop there-abusers are forging prescriptions or they may steal from friends or family members. Those abusers who have exhausted other means are going to the black market. Black market dealers are stealing from legitimate shipments, getting supplies from pharmacies, or the biggest shocker-patients are selling their medications for cash. This black market business is scary as a pharmacist. Pharmacies are actually robbed in order for dealers to get supplies. We have got to focus just as much attention on stopping prescription drug abuse as stopping other illegal drug trafficking in the US.