Should I hide it? (Drug related)

[Slater]

Just a little bit of background first: about a year ago I fell into a major orthodontic-related complication that sent me to the hospital for 3 days (in which time I underwent some minor surgery), and 2 days after I got out of the hospital I had to have an emergency root canal because the treatment I received in the hospital wasn't quite enough to fix what had happened. I'm fine from that today (though the roof of my mouth is permanently scarred), but the end result from my stay in the hospital and my trip to the dentist is a large surplus of Vicodin: a painkiller that packs a good punch.

From the time that I was in the hospital to the day I sit here writing this, I've only consumed two of about 30-40 of these that were prescribed to me (only once did I take the full pill in one sitting). I gotta admit, it does give a pretty funny feeling once it gets into your system, and it certainly gets the job done... other than that, I don't think there's any risk of me becoming addicted to them. But this isn't about me...

See, my father really likes Vicodin; I've known this for a long time since he's had a few surgeries in the past decade or so. If there's any in the house, he'll consume it for even the (supposedly encountered) slightest headache or musclepains, though everyone in the house knows that he likes the feeling it gives.

Back to my pills, I've kept them semi tucked away, out of sight in the back of medicine cabinet. I'm kinda afraid to touch them or move them anywhere else, so I like to keep them out of sight but, at the same time, in a place where my mom can semi-monitor them. This was the case until recently when I found the pill bottle had mysteriously migrated over to my dad's medicine cabinet. A quick inspection of the bottle showed that almost all of them were still there; I can't tell if any more have been taken out or not but it looks like it's still almost completely full. Still, I suspect that my dad might want to use them some time in the future.

I can't say that I really like that idea. First of all, I know that this stuff can be addicting when taken too heavily, and secondly I still experience some tooth pains that can't be silenced with non-prescription-strength painkillers (no dental insurance until very recently; that's kept me from getting to the bottom of these pains). Thus, I'm not too keen to the idea of just flushing them down the drain, but I don't know where else to put them. For a while, my mom believed that I was getting high in my room off of some stuff I bought from the hardware store (which I always denied because I've never even thought about doing that sort of stuff), so tucking the pills away in my underwear drawer might not be such a good idea either. (Besides, they kinda scare me too...)

I'm just wondering if anyone can think of some better solutions on what to do with these pills... I know that I want to keep them close enough so that they aren't getting plucked off by anyone who doesn't need them, but I don't want them to be so close to me that someone takes it the wrong way... any suggestions?

[ShiroiHikari]

Uh...if he keeps taking them without your permission, then you should probably confront him about it. Not only is it substance abuse, it's a violation of federal law to take prescription medicines that are not prescribed to you. :\ I believe it's also illegal to give them to anyone else.

I personally would go ahead and keep them stashed away somewhere. That way if he takes some, you'll know it.

[minakichan]

Goodness gracious, what a situation...

Ditto on ShiroiHikari. And if your mom's worried about it, maybe you could stick the bottle in your underwear drawer/some other discreet place and tell her about it, explaining your fears, without telling your dad? Of course, I don't know the circumstances of your family politics/drama, so...

[termyt]

I'd flush them, but I do not know the breath and width of your pain when you get it. Either way, hanging on to year-old pain killers was not the intent when they were perscribed to you.

Before doing anything, can you speak to your mother about it?

[silver_wolf454]

flush them, it's the best way to get rid of them.

[Shao Feng-Li]

What about having your mom hide them away? Perhaps she could them out if you might need them.

[Saint Kevin]

Flush them and have a witness (your mom? a couple relatives?). That way you're done with the possibility of your dad taking your meds, and it doesn't look like you've sold them (or taken them yourself for the purpose of abusing them).

[Dante]

I'd say that you should have your mom hide them where she knows your father won't be able to access them. Explain to her that you don't want them used up because you need them for your own pains that you are still having, and when that clears itself up you'd like them disposed of or hidden once again (Only accessible in small amounts by her permission). Headaches are no excuse for such a powerful medication, and if they were, he would have an excuse for attending a hospital. In fact, by using such powerful meds he is perhaps building up a resistance to them so that when he gets hit with something that really knocks him up pain wise, these methods will prove ineffective at stopping his pain.

Other possibilities include getting your mom to buy a small electronic safe from someplace like McFrugals. They go for about thirty bucks when I got one and they can act to store more things then just these meds, so it could be useful to her. (I only thought about this because it may be a fairly large quantity of the meds and so given their cost, it may prove to be a worthy investment).

Because she would be the only one with the code combination, neither you nor your father could access the pills without her placing the access code in. Granted she may feel sorry for him and give in to his desires, but then its in her hands, and not yours. She's a grown adult and can make such decisions with better clarity hopefully, given her experience on such matters. Not that she should give the pills out to him, but if she were to consider such things, she needs to do some research on their effects personally in order to determine the consequences of her actions, both for herself and her husband.

-Pascal