A sixteen year old girl colapses midway through her second period at the high school.  She is rushed to the emergency room where the doctors quickly realize she has taken a drug; but, which one?  It is not one of the common street drugs so they are baffled.  An inventory by her parents suggests she took “some of those little green pills from her grandmother’s medicine cabinet.”  This story is all too common and illustrates some points common among many of today’s children and youth.
 
A teenager may take prescription drugs from the family medicine cabinet and go to a “pharm” party.  All of the pills that everyone brings are put in a large bowl and everyone takes a handful and swallows them.  It does not take much intelligence to see that mixing prescription drugs is a dangerous practice.  Sharing prescription drugs is a felony.
 
The youths convince themselves and their friends that the practice is fun and that there is no danger.  Their number one point of access is at home in the medicine cabinet.  If you are taking prescription drugs and have teenagers you need to know these facts.  Lock your prescriptions up so they can not be found casually. 
 
Ms. Phillips showed a clip from a TV news show where small children were given “child-proof” medicine bottles to see if they could open them.  The youngest, a five year old boy, opened his container in six seconds.  Six seconds.  You need to pay attention to where and under what conditions you keep all of your prescriptions and over-the-counter medications.
 
If you have out of date or unused medications the police department has Drug Take It Back programs several times a year.  About 1,600 pounds of these drugs are turned in each year.  For comparison that equals 80 large dog food bags.  There is also a take back box in the office of Precinct One Constable Roy Callender, Jr. at 207 S. Sonoma Road in Ennis.
 
For more information contact Shari Phillips at 972-937-1531 or Molly Aguilar at 972-937-1042.  Visit the web site at www.dpri.com .
 
For more information about the Rotary Club of Waxahachie where we believe in Service Above Self and doing things as a club we cannot do alone, visit the club web site at www.waxahachierotary.org .  You can find American flag subscription applications on the web site.  Your support through the flag program and the bike ride enables us to do the works we do.  Thank you.
 
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