Locking up medications

rlsnights

New Member
I'm looking for advice about locking up the medications in our house. I've decided the time has come to get serious about this. Don't know how many of you do this but we are clear that we need to do this for safety.

I don't want to just put a big old lock on my beautiful new kitchen cabinets for aesthetic reasons and because visitors to our home could see it in plain sight.

So I'm looking at a lock box and discovered there a ton of different designs/models/manufactures of lock boxes out there.

If you are using a lock box could you post what you like and don't like about it. If you really like it I'd be happy to know the name and model number.

Thanks to all.
 

slsh

member since 1999
rls,
At one point, we not only locked up medications but also all sharps (knives, forks, tools, etc). I had 2 toolboxes, one for medications and one for sharps, both with keyed padlocks. The boxes were kept in the kitchen and the keys were on a chain around my neck 24/7.

We were actually much more worried about the sharps than the medications - but if you're worried about medications, you could put the locked box in your bedroom, and put a keyed lock on your bedroom door (another strategy we had going on at the same time - it was a fortress around here, LOL).
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
Military surplus ammunition cases (ammo cans) work well as do DAT tape cases (used to hold computer tapes for off site storage)

Both can be locked. The ammo cans are heavier and have a heavier hasp for the lock.

husband and I went to using an ammo can after my sister's stepson stole husband's entire monthly allotment of pain medications from an unlocked cabinet. We had a nightmare trying to get refills.

It happened very quickly. husband was sitting on the sofa and I went out to check some food on the grill. In that short a period of time, the medications had disappeared into this jerk's pockets.
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
I have a Honeywell touchpad combination safe that is bolted to my bathroom counter top. It can also be bolted to a shelf or the floor. Or just sat on either of these things but I wanted it bolted so no one could just walk off with the safe. The safe also has a key so if you forget the combination you can open it but I have hidden the key very, very well...lol. The keyhole is hidden too.

This safe is big enough for documents and medications. I paid about $80 for it 2 years ago. I tried all the padlocks on toolboxes but my son was very determined and he could get into just about anything. He cant get into this because I made up the combination and he has no clue what it is.
 

mstang67chic

Going Green
Another thought if you are planning on keeping the lock box in your room. If you install a key lock on your door and possible breakins are an issue with your difficult child(s)....go for the deadbolt. When we started locking our bedroom door with a key lock, it didn't take long to realize that difficult child could and did break in. Save yourself the hassle and go straight to the deadbolt.
 

Wiped Out

Well-Known Member
Staff member
We don't lock them anymore but we did and always kept them in a lock box that had a combination. It worked well for our purposes.
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
The reason I have such a secure box is because I am locking up pain medications and other medications such as Klonopin. If I was only locking up my lamictal and say lithium I dont think I would need such a strong box. Now if I had things such as adderall or ritalin..then yes. Anything with street value needs to be locked up.

I didnt know this but seroquel has a street value. People use this to come down off crack. What people will do...sigh.

My son would regularly go through my scripts and tell me to keep certain things locked up tight. Now he wouldnt take anything but he tells me stuff because he doesnt want any of his loser friends to rob me. It took me almost six months to trust that he wont touch my stuff. I had to leave bottles out with a few in them and be gone or out of the room when he was here and then see if he did take them. When he didnt for weeks on end...boy was I glad to see he earned my trust back!
 

klmno

Active Member
The only effective locking that worked in my house was in the trunk of the car, unfortunately,- and keeping the car keys on my body at all times- even sleeping with them.
 
I have for years used a lock box with a key, but it has the additional trick that, after unlocking with the key, if you don't push down on the lid in coordination with pushing the latch, it won't open. I also hid the key in an unlikely place. I never had a problem with the security on that. It's a fireproof (and I think waterproof) lock box. I chose it with the thought I could use it for other things once I no longer have the need to lock up the medications.

Another option I have and planned to use if that ever failed, is my gun safe. Yes, it does have my two handguns in it, but it also has exra room I could have used for the medications if needed. The safe requires a very unusually designed key (also hidden) as well as a combination I've shared with NO ONE, so I've always felt very secure with that system.

Both were Wal-mart items I bought several years ago, and they were not too expensive.
 
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