The ceramic bowl is filled with a jumble of pills in a rainbow of colors.

Vicodin, Oxycontin, Xanax – you name it, it’s in there. And the bowl is being passed around to a group of teens. It’s a game that is played at “pharm” or “pill” parties.

When the bowl gets to you, close your eyes, thrust in your hand, and pull out a fistful of pills.

The kids never know what combinations they’ll get, or how it will damage their young brains. And that, apparently, is part of the fun.

Prescription drug abuse, especially in our country’s youth, is on the rise. It’s easy for kids to reach into their bathroom cabinet and find an old bottle of Vicodin from their mom’s knee surgery. Or steal one or two tablets from their dad’s depression medication.

Whether they are self-medicating for anxiety, using stimulants to get a leg up on studying, or simply wanting to get high in a way that does not involve illicit drugs, kids are abusing prescription medications. Mix those drugs with alcohol, and the recipe is even more dangerous.

In an effort to protect our children from finding unused or expired medications, “Take Back” Programs are launching nationwide. While this doesn’t address kids using their parents’ current medications, it does help part of the problem. The chemicals in these drugs can be highly toxic to the environment when flushed or washed down the drain, but, if kept at home beyond their prescribed usage time, they can fall into the wrong hands.

In our county, the Take Back Program initiative began with a partnership between the San Juan Sheriff’s Office and the San Juan Island Prevention Coalition. Ray’s Pharmacy on Orcas, Friday Harbor Drug and the Lopez Pharmacy are all joining in to help with this program that addresses the need to have a safe way to dispose of excess prescription drugs.

Orcas Island residents can take back their unneeded prescription drugs to Ray’s Pharmacy on the first Wednesday of every month, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., beginning Aug. 4. A sheriff’s deputy will be collecting the medication.

Please take advantage of this opportunity. We’re thankful our county is part of this important program, both to help dispose of unwanted drugs and to raise awareness of this topic.

Let’s do our part to discourage pharm parties from happening on Orcas Island.