Family Resources

Pharmaceutical drugs can be just as dangerous as street drugs when taken without a prescription or a doctor’s supervision.

Consider these facts:

• Nearly in one in five teens has used a prescription drug to get high.
• Young adults aged 18-25 are the most common users of prescription medication for nonmedical use.
• Teens report getting drugs from the medicine cabinets in their own homes and from relatives and friends.

• If you take prescription drugs, keep track of how many pills you have. If your teen has a prescription, monitor the dosage and refills.
• Lock up your prescription drugs. If possible, use a small safe or put them in a place where only you can gain access to them.
• Discard unused prescription drugs at the locations listed below.

Safely Dispose of Prescription Drugs in Permanent Drop Boxes

Prescription drug abuse is the use of prescription medication in a manner not intended by the prescribing physician. Prescription drug abuse may include taking a friend's pain pill for a backache or crushing and snorting the medication to get high. One way to ensure your leftover prescription drugs won't be abused is to take them to one of three permanent drop boxes in Washoe County. Drop off your unused, unwanted prescription pills at one of these locations between the hours of 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday through Friday: 

• Reno Police Department - 455 E. 2nd Street
• Sparks Police Department - 1701 E. Prater Way
• Washoe County Sheriff's Office - 911 Parr Blvd.

To learn more about Safe Disposal in Nevada, visit the HealthierNV website.

Prescription Drug Round Up

The Prescription Drug Round Up, held each spring and fall, is a safe place to dispose of expired, unwanted prescription drugs.

More than 1.4 million pills have been collected at the Washoe County Round Ups since October 2009.  The September 2014 Round Up netted over 1,500 pounds of prescription drugs.

We're making plans for the next Prescription Drug Round Up and have selected Saturday, April 25 as the date. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. you can drop off your prescription drugs at any of the following locations:

• Incline Village Community Hospital - 880 Alder Ave., Incline Village
• Raleys - 18144 Wedge Parkway, Reno
• Walgreens - 10370 N. McCarran Blvd., Reno
• Walmart - 4855 Kietzke Ln., Reno
• CVS - 5151 Sparks Blvd., Sparks
• SaveMart - 565 E. Prater Way, Sparks

For more information on the Prescription Drug Round Up event on Saturday, April 25, click here.

Safely Dispose of Medications in Your Home

If you can't make it to a take back event or a prescription drug drop off location, there are other ways to dispose of your medications safely. For a step by step guide to disposing of old or unwanted prescription drugs please visit the Safe Disposal section here on the healthiernv.org website. 

Lock Up Your Meds Nevada