October is National Medicine Abuse Awareness Month, and there are lots of activities you can take part in to help raise awareness about medicine abuse. Here are my top five ways to join in on the fight against medicine abuse this month:

1. Take the StopMedicineAbuse pledge. Vow to fight over-the-counter cough medicine abuse by pledging to start conversations with your teen, knowing how much medicine you have in your house at all times, and getting informed about the risks, warning signs, and resources that can help. Encourage other parents you know to take the pledge as well!
2. Read about our Twitter chat. Earlier this month, we chatted with the Community Anti-Drug Collations of America (@CADCA) and the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy (@ONDCP) about the tools and resources that parents, educators, and community officials can use to prevent medicine abuse in their community. Follow @StopMedAbuse on Twitter for more news and information!
3. Host an event. Host an educational event, such as a town hall meeting or just a casual gathering of parents, in your community to talk about substance abuse, prevention, treatment, and intervention strategies. If you’re already active with the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA), don’t forget to register for the CADCA 50 Challenge!
4. Share resources. On our site, we’ve posted toolkits for educators, parents, law enforcement officials, school nurses, community leaders and retailers/pharmacists. These toolkits have resources on preventing medicine abuse in your community, so check them out and share them with anyone you know who would be interested.
5. Learn more. ONDCP’s Parents: The Anti-Drug site has information for parents on ways to talk to your teen about drugs, what to look for, and how to react if you think your child is using.