Category: Substance Use

Safely storing cannabis, edibles, and medications in your home protects children, youth, and pets.

During the last few years, the number of young people and pets in need of emergency care after ingesting cannabis products has increased dramatically. Access to opioids and other prescription meds continues to be a risk for young people. Thank you for checking out this page!

Cannabis products, edibles, and medications can be locked up in a variety of containers. You may already have something in your home that you can use! Lockable filing cabinets and safes can be used for products that don’t need to be refrigerated. Smaller medication lock boxes are available that may fit in smaller spaces, including the fridge.

Here are few places in Franklin County and the North Quabbin region that told us they carry medication lock boxes, small safes, or other lockable containers:

• Rite Aid,107 Main Street, Greenfield, and other locations, carries this medication storage container. It’s small enough to fit in the fridge or in a small cabinet.
• Aubuchon Hardware, 200 Avenue A, Turners Falls can order a few types of lockable containers.
• CVS, 137 Federal Street, Greenfield, 1653 Main Street, Athol, and other CVS locations have medication lock boxes.
• Home Depot, 264 Mohawk Trail, Greenfield has safes and other lockable containers.
• Hamshaw Lumber in Orange, Greenfield, and Deerfield can order lockable containers.
• Baker Pharmacy, 52 Bridge St, Shelburne Falls has medication lock boxes or can order them quickly.
• Staples in Greenfield and other locations has a variety of lock boxes and filing cabinets that can be ordered online or through the store.

You can also call a local hardware store or pharmacy to see if they carry they type of lockable storage you want.

Thank you for helping to protect kids, youth, and pets!

Prevention is a broad term used in public health to support the health and well-being of people by preventing problems before they start.

Coalitions like ours work on prevention by supporting and promoting events, policies, educational curricula, information, and activities for youth, families, and professionals that help to reduce risk factors and increase protective factors.

How do Risk and Protective Factors affect health?

Risk factors are things that increase the likelihood that someone will have a negative health outcome like develop a disease, have an accident, or start using alcohol and drugs at an early age. Protective factors reduce the likelihood of a negative health outcome and support good mental and physical health. There are multiple risk and protective factors for each type of disease or other health-related concern.

Some examples of risk and protective factors: For diabetes and heart disease, one risk factor is lack of access to healthy, nutritious food. You can probably guess that access to healthy, nutritious food and regular exercise are protective factors! For youth substance use, one risk factor is easy access to alcohol and other drugs. Protective factors include opportunities for positive social activities at school and in the community, caring and involved parents/caregivers, and social-emotional skills. Some risk and protective factors are really interesting and even surprising. Learn more about risk and protective factors here.

Why is preventing (and reducing) youth substance use so important?

Adolescence is a time of rapid brain development. Drugs and alcohol can harm the developing brain in ways that have long-term consequences for our young people’s physical and mental health, ability to learn, and their futures, well into adulthood. As adults who care about young people, we have a responsibility to protect kids and teenagers and to do everything we can to ensure that they have healthy lives. 

We don’t want a young person’s challenges to “boil over” into substance use. We know how to prevent a pot from boiling over on the stove: we can turn down the heat, add some cool water, move the pot away from the flame, and make sure that the pot isn’t too full when we put it on the stove in the first place!

Preventing youth substance use is similar in some important ways. Research is clear – effective prevention is a community issue, not something that is up to one child or teen. What wholesome ingredients are important to support in our community? How can we reduce stress and turn down the heat in a child’s life? How can we start early to prevent substance use problems in the future?

Youth Substance Use Prevention is the science of protecting young people’s health by supporting the whole community through:

• Providing education for parents and other important adults in kids’ lives
• Advocating for  policies that reduce the likelihood that a young person will have access to alcohol and drugs
• Fostering an environment in which young people have the skills and support they need to thrive
• Health equity and racial justice work
• Youth leadership Initiatives 
• Changing systems to create communities, laws, and norms that are supportive of the health of young people. For example, having community events that are not focused on drinking. These are also great for families and people in recovery.
• School-based prevention programs, like LifeSkills Training, and supporting school-connectedness. 

But prevention is more than just that! Most public health prevention efforts work by supporting health and well-being, not just preventing problems, so prevention leads to happier, healthier, more connected individuals and communities.

Supporting the emotional and physical health of young people expands their opportunities for the rest of their lives. Preventing problems like substance use and violence keeps doors open for them. 

Our coalitions focus on youth substance use prevention and violence prevention. Both of these types of prevention can be done in many of the same ways, because creating a healthier environment for kids, teens, and families is what works the best for both. 

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day happens twice a year, in April and October.

Here is some info about how to get rid of your unwanted medications and help youth to be more savvy about the risks of prescription medications and fake pills all year round.

What is National Prescription Drug Take Back Day?

On Take Back Day, community members are encouraged to bring their expired or unwanted medications and drop them off, no questions asked. 

In our region, multiple police departments are open as drop off locations in Franklin County and the North Quabbin region.

Some departments have permanent drop boxes, and some are open just for Take Back Day.

Locally, the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office, the Opioid Task Force, and other organizations – including youth health and youth substance use prevention coalitions like ours – promote and support local efforts. Over 74,000 pounds have been collected since 2011!

Here is a great post from 2024 by Those Nerdy Girls about National Clean Out Your Medicine Cabinet Day, the thing we all need to do before bringing meds to drop off locations. It reminds us about how to make sure we find all the meds in the house, and it also includes the “flush list,” the list of the medications that are OK to flush down the toilet.

Find year-round drop locations at local pharmacies, hospitals, and police departments here. 

Need to dispose of needles/sharps?

Most drop off locations don’t accept needles/sharps. The Sharps Disposal Program of Franklin County has multiple drop-off locations. Learn more here.

Is there any way to safely dispose of unwanted medications in household trash?

Although it’s often better for the environment to use a drop box location, you can also do it safely at home. The FDA recommends these steps for disposing of  prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs in pills, liquids, drops, patches, and creams:

1. Remove the drugs from their original containers and mix them with something undesirable, such as used coffee grounds, dirt, or cat litter. This makes the medicine less appealing to children and pets and unrecognizable to anyone looking for drugs.
2. Put the mixture in something you can seal (a re-sealable zipper storage bag, empty can, or other container) to prevent the drug from leaking or spilling out.
3. Throw the container in the garbage.
4. Scratch out your personal information on empty medicine packaging before throwing it away to protect your identity and privacy. 

Why is Take Back Day important?

Proper disposal of unused drugs saves lives and protects the environment. 

The majority of misused prescription drugs in this country are obtained from family and friends, often from a home medicine cabinet. Every year, unused or expired prescription medications lead to accidental poisoning, misuse, overdoses, and suicides. Medications can also pollute drinking water sources and soil when they are flushed down the toilet or put in the trash.  

Talk with kids and teenagers about drugs and alcohol, including pills, cannabis, and nicotine. 

Talk and connect with youth about drugs and alcohol:
The Talk. They Hear You. campaign is free and includes tips and app to practice talking with kids and teens about alcohol and drugs. 
How to Connect with Your Teenager to Prevent Drug Use from The Partnership to End Addiction – concrete tips on staying involved and talking with youth.
Learn and talk with youth about the risks of fentanyl, which is being added to fake pills and other drugs:
Drop the F*Bomb is a campaign to help parents and caregivers talk with youth about the risks of fentanyl, including fake pills.

What else can we do to help year-round?

There are many ways to help prevent misuse, addiction, and overdose. Here are a few:

 When you are prescribed pain medicine after a surgery or medical procedure and think you won’t use all of it, you can request a smaller amount of medication – either a lower dose or fewer pills. If you are not sure, you can talk with the medical provider prescribing about the options.

 Lock up your medications and any other drugs, including cannabis. Lock boxes are available online and locally at Home Depot, the Turners Falls Aubuchon, and other locations. Locking up drugs can protect people and also pets.  

 Keep track of what you have, so you notice if anything is missing. 

 Clearly label medications and other drugs so they aren’t taken (or eaten) accidentally.

 If you think a person of any age or a pet has consumed medication that is not theirs or may have consumed too much, call the poison control center at (800) 222-1222 or call 911. 

 Talk with kids and youth about drugs and alcohol, including prescription and over-the-counter medication, fake pills, cannabis, and nicotine. See the yellow box above with great resources for learning about the issues and protecting the young people you care about.

Sources:  SAMHSA, NIDA, The Northwestern DA’s Office, the FDA, and listed resources.