An apothecary safety closure for a bottle neck capable of preventing inadvertent opening of the bottle is provided. The safety closure includes a liner adapted to be inserted into and frictionally engaged by the bottle neck. The liner includes a recess therein and structure for effecting a removal of the liner from the bottle neck. A stopper includes a cylindrical wall portion adapted to be inserted into the liner recess and rotated therein. The cylindrical wall portion is formed with operative portions adapted to be selectively aligned with the operative structure on the liner in response to selective rotation of the stopper to effect removal of the liner from the bottle neck by the stopper.