Secure Your Meds Campaign

Whether toddler or teen, Ottawa children are being harmed by medications they find in their own homes, including opioid prescription medication.

Thirteen (13) percent of Ottawa high school students reported using an opioid pain reliever that weren't prescribed for them, and two-thirds got the drug from a parent, sibling or someone else they live with.

Prescription-style opioids are misused more than most illegal drugs in Ottawa, and were involved in about 45% of drug overdose deaths between 2009 and 2011. Fentanyl, for the first time, was the leading cause of death due to unintentional opioid overdose death in Ottawa in 2014. More recently, the fentanyl related overdose deaths of two local teens has further highlighted this serious health issue.

Parents like you, as well as other family members and friends, can reduce the risk of teens accessing medications in your home simply by securing your medications, either by:

• Returning unused or expired medications to your pharmacy or to a pharmacy participating in the Ontario Medication Return Program (see this searchable map for locations near you).
• Making sure to keep prescription medication, that you or other family members currently require, locked up and check from time to time to ensure no medication is missing

For more information on securing your medication, please Visit DrugDropOffOttawa.ca . For information about opioid overdose, and for resources available in our community, please visit the opioid page at Parenting in Ottawa and the Stop Overdose Ottawa website.