What To Do With Leftover Drugs
How do you dispose of prescription drugs that you no longer need or have expired? The most reliable solution is to hand them over on Saturday, April 29, this year’s National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day sponsored by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). All you have to do is click this link from the National Take-Back Day’s website and enter your zip code. The closest collection sites will then pop up on your computer screen. Last year this event resulted in the collection of about 447 tons of unwanted medication at almost 5,400 sites throughout the U.S.
If you can’t make it to your closest site Saturday, you can get rid of old or unwanted drugs by following FDA directions:
- Mix medicines (don’t crush tablets or capsules) with dirt, kitty litter, used coffee grounds or some other unpalatable substance;
- Place the mixture in a container such as a sealed plastic bag;
- Throw the container in your household trash;
- Be sure to scratch out all personal information on the prescription label of empty pill bottles or medicine packaging to make it unreadable and then toss the container in the trash.
However, some medications pose additional dangers and they may need to be flushed. You can find the FDA’s complete list of these drugs here.
Source:
Drug Enforcement Administration, “Disposal Act: General Public Fact Sheet,” deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/fact_sheets/disposal_public.pdf
Also in this week’s bulletin:
If you are tired of too many prescriptions – and have had enough of taking medications for ailments that may not require them – then my new book may be for you: Mind Over Meds looks at the problem of overmedication, the science that shows drugs aren’t always the best option, as well as helpful, reliable integrative medicine approaches.
Interested in expanding your knowledge on the latest in nutrition, healthful living and integrative medicine from internationally recognized experts including Andrew Weil, M.D., Donald Abrams, M.D., Victoria Maizes, M.D., Clint Woods, and more? Learn more about the 14th annual Nutrition Conference, Nutrition & Health: State of the Science and Clinical Applications, held May 1-3, 2017, at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix, Arizona.
