A prescription medication that helps you can cause great harm to someone who takes it accidentally.

That’s why the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) urges people to put no-longer-used drugs in something unappealing like kitty litter or used coffee grounds and then sealing in a bag before placing in the garbage.

Some painkillers and opiates are very desirable as illegal street drugs.

Studies show that people who abuse prescription drugs often get them from the medicine cabinets of family and friends.

That’s why the FDA suggests flushing opiates down the toilet rather than putting in the trash. However, many environmental groups ask people to never flush medication down the sink or toilet because drugs, including antibiotics, hormones and steroids, are finding their way into public water supplies.

Many towns participate in the National Medication Turn-In Day every spring and sometimes in the fall, in association with local law enforcement agencies.

Your local police department should be able to provide information on where to discard no-longer-used medications that might pose a danger to other people or the environment.