A partial solution that will help.......

[ABikerSailor]

Again......the question is, since we can recycle lots of other things, why can't a program be started to recycle basic (not narcotic or opiate) medications?

If you want to know the real reason...

Even if it were perfectly safe, the pharmaceutical companies would block the practice.

Do I need to tell you why?

Actually......no. I can probably guess, and it's got something to do with the insurance company and big pharma lobbyists who are shoving money into Congress' pockets.

They can't profit, so they don't want to help.

 

[Charles Stucker]

She could go to her doctor's office and ask them to put the meds in the medical waste.

Exactly.
Once the meds leave the pharmacy FDA regulations prevent them from being given out again or transferred. Thus any prescription medication which cannot be used should be properly destroyed. The receptionist at the doctor's office or the pharmacist should be able toe give you the local procedure.

 

[Dr Gregg]

I'm placing this in Current Events, because this involves something that is currently in the news, as well as has affected my life personally, right now.

My room mate was recently diagnosed with cancer. She's got good insurance, so that's not a worry, but this is........

Because the doctors had to find out what was wrong with her, she was prescribed quite a few medications, some of which she had bad reactions to and stopped taking.

Incidentally, she's still got quite a few of those medications, many of which are heart medications and the like (not narcotics), and she can't use them.

She went back to the pharmacy to try to give them back, as she didn't want to flush them down the toilet because it's also been on the news quite a bit that the city water systems have started to become polluted due to all the people flushing medication.

She was told they couldn't be returned, and she had to figure out something to do with them.

There are a lot of people here in Amarillo who could benefit from donated medications. My question is, why can't someone like the Salvation Army or some other charity set up a pharmacy where they could take the medications back, check them and make sure they're still viable and safe, and then whoever came over with a prescription from a doctor could get their meds filled there if they didn't have money?

My roomie likened it to having a full plate of good food, going outside and seeing the homeless, and then just throwing the food on the ground and walking away. I sort of see it the same as well.

Anyone have thoughts on this subject? I'd really like a couple of good ideas so that maybe this kind of program could get started.

As much as unused or unneeded medication could help, its just not safe. For one, you don't know if the person who is donating the used pills maybe switched the pills, or contaminated them, or maybe they are expired, or not in the correctly labeled bottle or god knows what. Hence why they don't allow you to give the pills back or share them with others. I'm pretty sure safety concerns is the primary driver behind those rules

 

[MaggieMae]

I'm placing this in Current Events, because this involves something that is currently in the news, as well as has affected my life personally, right now.

My room mate was recently diagnosed with cancer. She's got good insurance, so that's not a worry, but this is........

Because the doctors had to find out what was wrong with her, she was prescribed quite a few medications, some of which she had bad reactions to and stopped taking.

Incidentally, she's still got quite a few of those medications, many of which are heart medications and the like (not narcotics), and she can't use them.

She went back to the pharmacy to try to give them back, as she didn't want to flush them down the toilet because it's also been on the news quite a bit that the city water systems have started to become polluted due to all the people flushing medication.

She was told they couldn't be returned, and she had to figure out something to do with them.

There are a lot of people here in Amarillo who could benefit from donated medications. My question is, why can't someone like the Salvation Army or some other charity set up a pharmacy where they could take the medications back, check them and make sure they're still viable and safe, and then whoever came over with a prescription from a doctor could get their meds filled there if they didn't have money?

My roomie likened it to having a full plate of good food, going outside and seeing the homeless, and then just throwing the food on the ground and walking away. I sort of see it the same as well.

Anyone have thoughts on this subject? I'd really like a couple of good ideas so that maybe this kind of program could get started.

Contact local hospice care facilities, and as long as the drugs are intact, they will take them to a pharmacist to verify their effectiveness and the fact that they have not been tampered with, and can use them for people in their care who are prescribed the same medication. If hospices are no longer doing this, they would at least tell you how to properly dispose of them. Actually, you could probably just take them to any hospital and ask someone in charge in the ER to place them in one of their biohazard dispensaries.

 

[MaggieMae]

Why? Do you think that flushing medication and polluting the water system is more preferable to donating medication that you can't use any longer? By the way, these scripts are fresh.

It's just that when I hear of something that is wasteful and harmful like that, I want to know if there is a solution that can help.

No, I think throwing them in the trash bin makes more sense. There is one group that recycles Aids medicine it's called RAMP (Recycled AIDS Medicine Program), it's a project stemming from the New Humanist Movement, gathers unused HIV medicines and delivers them to organizations overseas.

So you're saying RAMP goes through trash bins?

 

[froggy]

If a drug take‐back or collection program is not available:
1. Take your prescription drugs out of their original containers.
2. Mix drugs with an undesirable substance, such as cat litter or used coffee grounds.
3. Put the mixture into a disposable container with a lid, such as an empty margarine tub, or into a sealable bag.
4. Conceal or remove any personal information, including Rx number, on the empty containers by covering it with black permanent marker or duct tape, or by scratching it off.
5. Place the sealed container with the mixture, and the empty drug containers, in the trash.

 

[Lonestar_logic]

Why? Do you think that flushing medication and polluting the water system is more preferable to donating medication that you can't use any longer? By the way, these scripts are fresh.

It's just that when I hear of something that is wasteful and harmful like that, I want to know if there is a solution that can help.

No, I think throwing them in the trash bin makes more sense. There is one group that recycles Aids medicine it's called RAMP (Recycled AIDS Medicine Program), it's a project stemming from the New Humanist Movement, gathers unused HIV medicines and delivers them to organizations overseas.

So you're saying RAMP goes through trash bins?

No stupid, that's not at all what I'm saying. Two distinct sentences, two distinct messages. Reading comprehension isn't your friend, is it? You fucking liberals are truly stupid!

 

[JenyEliza]

Yes, but I'm wondering why a pharmacist couldn't check the pills to make sure they're safe?

How would he do that? Chemical screens?
And if one pill out of a bottle is screened, who's to say the rest are safe?

It truly is a stupid post.

But there's a lot of money to be made in selling prescription meds. Feel free.

If the meds are in clearly marked unit-dose blister packs that state the name of the medication, manufacturer's name, batch ID#, expiration date, etc, there should be no reason whatsoever that the meds could not be recycled as long as they are not expired.

Unfortunately, MOST meds are not dispensed this way at the retail level (CVS, Wal*Mart, Walgreen's, etc). A couple I can think of off-hand are Z-pack (Zithromax) and Prednisone, Decadron or Medrol Dosepaks.

This method of dispensing is mostly employed in a clinical setting for this very reason--so that unused meds can be returned to Pharmacy stock intact and available to be used for a patient without calling into question safety.

It is a more expensive way to dispense, and not very likely to catch on at the retail level. But as far as I know that would be the only viable, safe, way to recycle all retail level meds that are not used or unneeded.

 

[DiamondDave]

I'm placing this in Current Events, because this involves something that is currently in the news, as well as has affected my life personally, right now.

My room mate was recently diagnosed with cancer. She's got good insurance, so that's not a worry, but this is........

Because the doctors had to find out what was wrong with her, she was prescribed quite a few medications, some of which she had bad reactions to and stopped taking.

Incidentally, she's still got quite a few of those medications, many of which are heart medications and the like (not narcotics), and she can't use them.

She went back to the pharmacy to try to give them back, as she didn't want to flush them down the toilet because it's also been on the news quite a bit that the city water systems have started to become polluted due to all the people flushing medication.

She was told they couldn't be returned, and she had to figure out something to do with them.

There are a lot of people here in Amarillo who could benefit from donated medications. My question is, why can't someone like the Salvation Army or some other charity set up a pharmacy where they could take the medications back, check them and make sure they're still viable and safe, and then whoever came over with a prescription from a doctor could get their meds filled there if they didn't have money?

My roomie likened it to having a full plate of good food, going outside and seeing the homeless, and then just throwing the food on the ground and walking away. I sort of see it the same as well.

Anyone have thoughts on this subject? I'd really like a couple of good ideas so that maybe this kind of program could get started.

While in part it SOUNDS good in a charitable way... the risks involved for liability in case of improper prescribing, tampered medicines, expired medicines, etc make this something that would be hard to implement... hell, even if you went thru all the checks to ensure the medicines are what they are and are safe, it might be no savings at all

 

[jillian]

Yes, but I'm wondering why a pharmacist couldn't check the pills to make sure they're safe?

Too many liability issues. People can tamper with meds and no one can vouch for the fact that the pills hadn't had something else dripped on them or injected into them if they're a capsule.

*Edit*... DD beat me to it.