The Partnership for a Drug-Free America, in conjunction with the American College of Emergency Physicians and other concerned parties, has called on Americans to make their homes safer by simply cleaning out their medicine cabinets.
November 13, 2010 has been set aside for a nationwide campaign called the American Medical Chest Challenge. Through this effort, the various coalition members hope to help citizens purge their medicine cabinets of old prescription drugs.
“Prescription drugs are a daily, necessary regimen for the majority of Americans,” begins a spokesperson for Mountainside Drug Rehab and Alcohol Treatment Center. “The problem arises when medications aren't stored properly, safely or are kept well beyond their date of expiration. Individuals need to make certain that, firstly, they are storing their medications properly. And, secondly, they need to make sure that they are regularly discarding their expired prescriptions. It is amazing how innovative young adults are becoming and using routine medications for abuse. That's why it is so important for parents to keep track of their medications as well as to make sure that they are disposed of properly. Events such as this one help keep the issue before the public and help people get to a point where the actions described above become routine, perhaps further preventing the need for
addiction treatment.
The biggest cause for alarm are narcotics left unsecured. It is estimated that 70 percent of people who abuse prescription pain relievers received them from friends or relatives and that nearly 9 million people use prescription medications for non-medical uses.
Taking inventory regularly of medications within one's medicine cabinet is the best way to prevent abuse as well as accidental ingestion, which is most likely to happen with young children and the elderly.
Since its inception, Mountainside Drug Rehab and Alcohol Treatment Center has been committed to
creating ways that will help individuals to get and remain sober.
The compassionate, caring treatment team at Mountainside is comprised of licensed and certified counselors and social workers as well as an on-staff Nurse Practitioner and a Registered Nurse, both of whom have specializations and extensive experience in drug addiction and alcohol treatment. For clients who may have psychiatric issues and/or a dual diagnosis, Mountainside provides the services of a Psychiatrist who also has specialization in addictions. As a result of their unique, innovative approaches to addiction treatment over the past 12 years, Mountainside has become the model for the addiction treatment field.
The program, along with its professional addiction treatment team, has earned national recognition and resulted in Mountainside being invited to Washington by the White House to meet with the White House Drug Czar, John P. Waters, for an in-depth meeting on what makes its program so successful. These accolades did not go unnoticed within the addiction treatment field and resulted in the adoption by many throughout the country of a more holistic approach to drug addiction treatment.
If you or someone you love is addicted to drugs or alcohol, or if you have any questions, please contact Mountainside
Drug Rehab and Alcohol Treatment Center for a confidential inquiry at 800-762-5433.
