Most people store medication in a bathroom cabinet or kitchen drawer without thinking much about it, but where and how prescriptions are stored has a measurable effect on two separate risks: accidental ingestion by children, and use by a family member or visitor the medication wasn’t prescribed for — one of the most common ways people are first exposed to controlled substances like opioids and benzodiazepines.

Storage

  • Keep controlled medications (opioids, benzodiazepines, stimulants) in a locked box or cabinet, not just a high shelf — child-resistant caps aren’t the same as child-proof, and older kids and teens can and do find and recognize medications left in plain sight.
  • Don’t store medication in its original bottle inside a shared medicine cabinet if household members other than the prescribed patient have access — a locked container is worth the inconvenience for anything with misuse potential.
  • Keep track of roughly how many pills or how much liquid you have left, the same way you’d notice if cash went missing — it makes it far easier to notice if something is off.

Disposal Expired or unneeded medication shouldn’t sit in a cabinet indefinitely, and most medications shouldn’t simply go in household trash or down the drain. The DEA runs National Prescription Drug Take Back Day events, and many pharmacies host permanent drop boxes year-round — search “drug take back near me” or ask your pharmacist directly. For a short list of specific medications, the FDA recommends flushing if no take-back option is immediately available, specifically because the poisoning risk from a child or pet finding them outweighs the environmental concern — check the FDA’s “flush list” if you’re unsure which category a medication falls into.

This applies even to medications you don’t think of as risky. A half-empty bottle of a prescribed cough syrup or anti-anxiety medication sitting in a cabinet for months is a common, preventable starting point for both accidental poisoning and misuse — a few minutes of secure storage or proper disposal meaningfully reduces both.