Arlington police are urging households with family members in addiction recovery to be careful with medications after a toddler accidentally ingested Suboxone, a drug used to help treat those addicted to opioids.

Police said the 2-year-old’s father was playing with his daughter Tuesday morning when he noticed she was holding the top part of the drug package in her hand and appeared to be drowsy. The child was taken to Winchester Hospital for treatment around 10 a.m. and is expected to be OK, according to authorities.

The Suboxone belonged to another resident in the house, police said.

“As more people turn to medication-assisted treatment, we applaud their efforts to recover, but as a public safety agency we want to urge everyone to treat these products like any other prescription drug in the home,” Police Chief Frederick Ryan said in a statement. “That means keeping it stored high and away from where children could accidentally find and ingest it. The same basic rules should apply to all prescription drugs in the home, and the entire family needs to be invested and on the same page.”


Suboxone, a brand name for buprenorphine, is used to help people reduce or stop their use of heroin or other opioid drugs.

If taken by children, police said the drug can mimic some effects of opioids, causing respiratory issues or other compilations.