This week, there was an article in the news about a professional soccer player, the captain of the team actually, who got caught through a drug test for smoking marijuana. What was interesting about this article to me, was the way the Players’ Union handled the issue. He wasn’t just thrown out and told not to come back.

There are preset rules in the league that deal with drug abuse. Not only a way to deter use, but a way to help the players through, should they find themselves faced with drug addiction issues.

The soccer player was drug tested, which is a bi-annual, no prior notice procedure, administered to everyone in the league. An independent company tests the players for common street drugs like heroin, cocaine, marijuana as well as performance enhancing drugs.

Instead of throwing players out of the league for testing positively, they have the option to attend a drug rehab program. Then, after successful completion, they can play again. To me, it’s truly a winning solution. And, I think a lot of people would benefit from this type of program in many different work-based scenarios. The player who got busted is through his time in rehab and back to doing what he loves, playing soccer.

Rather than throwing someone out, which doesn’t help the situation at hand, they are assisted. And while marijuana seems like a fairly harmless, non-addictive drug to a lot of people, it is illegal and many, many people enter drug rehab to battle the havoc it causes in their lives.

President Obama is currently working on a new anti-drug strategy. I really hope this headline makes its way to his desk. Perhaps it could be a positive addition to what he’s working on to clean up America. We need all the help we can get!

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This week, I came across a headline about a young man who died from a drug overdose. Since I read mostly drug-related news headlines and the stories that are related, I see quite a few articles like this during any given week or month. But, why did this one jump out at me? Because the young man’s mother taught him how to use drugs starting at the age of 14 or 15!

It was reported that the Wisconsin mother smoked marijuana and crack-cocaine as well as used heroin with her child. How sickening is that? And, to top it off, she’s now left without a child and facing a jail sentence. She attributes her behavior to substance abuse and mental health issues.

Many people in the world are faced with substance abuse problems. The effects of these problems are reflected in the news stories that are about drug violence, trafficking and tragic overdoses. But when parents are involving their children into the mix, it brings it to a whole new level.

Apparently there were witnesses who told the investigators of the overdose death about the drugs she was doing with her son. Why on earth didn’t anyone get them help? Were they scared? Were they fellow drug users? Did they feel like it wasn’t their place to intervene? A plethora of questions fill my mind. But, what I do know, is that if they would have spoken up, it’s possible that the boy would still be alive today. And both the mother and son could have received help to live healthy drug-free lives.

If you know anyone who is either abusing drugs or alcohol, or if, god forbid, they’re giving drugs to their children, it’s important that you speak up. Get them some help by contacting a drug rehab center or addiction specialist, before it’s too late.

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Do you have any unused prescription drugs hanging out in your medicine cabinet or around your house? A lot of people do, but don’t really even think about them. You just stop taking them and sort of forget about them. Well, it’s something that you should think about and they should really be disposed of.

With prescription drug overdose being the second leading cause of death in the US, we should all think about the dangers of leaving them around the house for anyone to find and take, especially teenagers. Let’s face it, there’s no need to make them easily accessible for recreational use.

But, how do you get rid of the unwanted pills, patches or liquids? Do you throw them in the trash? Do you flush them down the toilet? Toss them out your car window on a deserted highway? Just kidding about that one!

The best way to properly dispose of your unused prescriptions is to take them to your prescription give back type of program. Kind of like bringing your paint and chemicals to the chemical collection programs that are offered through solid waste facilities. Just call your city or county government’s household recycling and trash service to see if there’s a program in your community.

If you don’t have a program like that in your area, the bottle label or patient instructions will generally indicate how to dispose of the medication that you need to get rid of. Sometimes it will say to just throw them in your trash and others will say to flush.

If there is no indication of how to get rid of your medication, take the unused substance out of its original bottle and mix them with undesirable substances like used kitty litter or coffee grounds. This makes it much less appealing to children and can make it almost impossible for someone to find who might go through the trash. It’s important NOT to flush any prescription drugs down the toilet unless they specifically indicate that you should do that.

Also, if you’re throwing out old medicine bottles that have a label with your personal information, scratch out the identifying specifics. This helps to protect your identity and personal information.

And, for all of you green lovers out there, this is all especially important to follow to help keep our water uncontaminated. So, let’s keep our planet safer and cleaner and most importantly, keep our unused prescription drugs out of the hands of people who might abuse them.

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