Customers at Fred Meyer’s 60 pharmacies in Washington, including the store’s Tri-Cities locations, now have access to free locking bags provided with opioid prescriptions.  

Fred Meyer is the first major pharmacy chain to participate in the Washington State Health Care Authority’s Lock Up Your Meds safe storage program, which provides locking bags to help prevent opioid misuse and overdose deaths.  

The program is part of the statewide Starts with One campaign to prevent opioid overdoses by increasing the safe use, storage and disposal of opioid prescriptions.  

About 82% of overdose deaths in Washington involve opioids, and nearly half of people misusing pain relievers, including prescription opioids, get them from a friend or family member, according to data in a press release. Only 44% of Washingtonians surveyed lock up their prescription medication, according to an HCA study. 

Since Fred Meyer began participating in the program in May, its pharmacies have distributed 713 bags, held 1,000 conversations about the importance of medication safe storage and secured 485 pledges from customers to lock up opioid prescriptions.  

Each year since the program launched in 2020, about 10-17 independent pharmacies have participated. A total of 1,827 locking devices have been distributed, with 3,435 patient conversations about safe storage and 1,914 pledges to lock up medications.  

The program has been having an impact on behavior: In 2023, 95% of participating patients said the information and resources provided had a direct impact on how they stored their medications at home.