Have you at some point in time shared medication with a family member or friend? Maybe you and your significant other both caught the same virus, and you decided to give your leftover antibiotics to him or her? Most of you probably answered yes.

Sharing medication is not uncommon. People do it for a number of reasons. Maybe they want to help someone save money, feel better, or save them a trip to the doctor. It is most common in the elderly and poor population, due to the fact that they have the least amount of resources to go to the doctor and get medication.

Although sharing medication is common, it is very dangerous. When a doctor prescribes a patient medication, they give the patient a specific type and dosage to treat the illness they are fighting. Even if the illness is similar to the one someone else is fighting, that does not mean the medication will work the same way. It could cause harm to the other person. They could have an allergic reaction or be given too high of a dose for their body.

Sharing medication is especially dangerous with prescription pain pills. Often when someone has a surgical procedure, they are given a bottle of pain pills. Most people do not finish the whole bottle, and then decide to share it with a friend or family member who has pain for another reason. This is extremely dangerous because pain pills are not only addictive, but can interact with other medications or be too high of a dosage for a person they are not prescribed to. If someone takes a high dosage, that could cause an overdose.

This is not only dangerous, but also illegal. The Food and Drug Administration forbids redistribution of drugs once they have been given to consumers.