Take back the drugs...

OK so here is where I put on my Nanny Helmet and wag my finger. Old scripts, we all have them and we’re all guilty of not finishing them. There they sit in the medicine cabinet, in a drawer or in a box you packed 5 years ago and haven’t unpacked in the last 3 moves. I get it. You and I know we shouldn’t hang on to old medications, but heaven knows I have my own personal stability study happening in my linen closet. Assuming you’ve decided to be a good citizen and dispose of the old meds, what do you do with them?

Many medications are labeled with disposal instructions. Your first step should be to read the instructions and find out how to dispose of the stuff. Barring that, you could call the customer service number of the manufacturer and ask them how to dispose of it (that’s something that I would do). In many cases, the instructions will recommend throwing the medication down the sink or flushing it in the toilet. (Insert deep sigh of disappointment here.) Now, the FDA’s web site provides a list of drugs that they say are OK to flush down the sink or toilet. Their rationale for this is that no study has shown a risk to the water supply (even though I just read about increased iodine levels in the local water supply ). I’m really iffy on blindly trusting the FDA these days. Act according to your own consciences.

Please don’t just throw them out in the trash. We’ve all seen the havoc a neighborly raccoon can inflict on your trash on a summer night…your old penicillin is not good for the raccoons or the seagulls at the landfill.

I think one of the best and least publicized solutions has been the National Prescription Drug Take Back program sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Agency and local law enforcement. This is where you can show up at your local police station (if you can find them, you know who you are Downingtown), and simply drop them off. Some communities have even extended this to illegal or “street drugs” with no questions asked. Unfortunately, this program only takes place once a year, in the spring time. If you can gather your meds and wait a few months, that is a safe solution.

Your local public health authority should recommend best practices for the disposal of medication. For example, my county health department recommends removing the medications from their original containers and mixing them with something disgusting like used coffee grounds or kitty litter and putting them in impermeable, nondescript containers, such as empty cans or sealable bags, and throwing the containers in the trash. These practices are based on FDA guidelines that you can read for yourself here: http://www.fda.gov/forconsumers/consumerupdates/ucm101653.htm

Some pharmacies are now offering to take back prescriptions. I know of at least one local pharmacy that does take back medications for disposal, you can ask at your local pharmacy counter. So that’s the end of my public service announcement. Nanny helmet is off.