It's not ok to toss un used or out dated prescription medications down the drain, or toilet.
Please don't do this.

Any pharmacy will accept them and dispose of them properly, as will a lot of L.E. agencies.

That goes for pain meds or !
Non pain meds.

A very good friend neighbor just passed away,last Sunday.

Two people just told his wife to "toss'em in the potty".

That's the wrong answer.
She had 16 bottles of prescription meds,
I took them for her to the pharmacy.

There are way, WAY too many meds in our creeks ,rivers and streams.
Please be responsible.

Yup.

All those dumped pharmaceuticals are ending up in our drinking water.

When my dad passed last month, Hospice did not want the left over meds so we took them to Walgreens.

Agreed with you.

One thing, perhaps it's my perception , that kind of irritates me , is when LE agencies, at least where I live , have drug take back days, it comes across, as if you have illegal drugs.

My prescriptions aren't illegal. Perhaps it's the wording of the matter. It comes across as if you have a bag of meth to turn in.

Maybe it should be Medication Disposal day.

JMO

Our Publix pharmacy would not accept some left over pain meds from kids wisdom teeth extractions - told me I had to go to the local PD and they would accept them. I thought that was really odd.

I don't see the concern here but I am willing to listen. Millions and millions of gallons of piss and shit and vomit etc. are alright to flush but a few bottles of medications are not? I am not seeing it. What do you think is in all that shit and piss? Seems like that old global warming argument.

A local urgent care facility won’t accept controlled substances, which could be what pain medications are. I assume there is some sort of issue about how the laws are different pertaining to narcotics. And if not the law, there have probably been incidents of workers at such facilities taking controlled substances for themselves, and that’s not something a facility wants to get caught up in.

The fact that people who haven’t been living under a rock for the past few decades still think it’s all right to flush medications is just one of countless examples of how poorly “education” works. And of course there’s the whole, “They can’t tell me what to do! I do whatever I dam’ well please!” crowd who will decide they know better than anyone else what the effects of their actions are, or simply don’t care.

Added:
Medications are different from the bacteria and other stuff that ends up in sewers as part of body waste. Water treatment will kill and remove those things, but the same is not true of the chemicals that constitute many medications. One of the elephants in the room that few people have any interest in recognizing, much less trying to affect are the estrogens in birth control pills and which get passed through in women’s urine. Water treatment measures don’t eliminate those chemicals from the water we ultimately end up drinking and they have been tied to undesirable effects on the rest of us.

But yeah: We know better than all those commie scientists and stuff who would rather inconvenience us by forcing us to dispose of our meds properly rather than just dumping them down the toilet. First thing you know they’ll be putting chemicals in our water to make us vote Democrat that they claim will help prevent tooth decay.

(Glad I’m too old to worry much about such things, but best of luck to the rest of you. And as an aside, “I don’t get it,” is an example of what Richard Dawkins calls the “argument from ignorance”: If I’m incapable of understanding something, then it must not be true, and I can ignore it.)

quote:

Originally posted by hberttmank:
I don't see the concern here but I am willing to listen. Millions and millions of gallons of piss and shit and vomit etc. are alright to flush but a few bottles of medications are not? I am not seeing it. What do you think is in all that shit and piss? Seems like that old global warming argument.

Shit and piss is what is left after you've digested and metabolized the compounds in your food. Much of it is harmless, and the rest of it biodegrades in the presence of bacteria and oxygen.

Pharmaceuticals dumped directly into the water have not been metabolized and are not necessarily biodegradable. The compounds stay in the environment. Many pharmaceuticals have accumulative effects--tiny amounts over long periods can be harmful. When pharmaceuticals show up in ground water, it is, indeed concerning.

Look at it this way: you've got a bucket of motor oil. Do you dump this down the drain, or dispose of it properly? Your 5 quarts of motor oil once every 3 months hardly compares to the amount of shit and piss you produce. What does one have to do with the other?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Aeteocles,

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:
Look at it this way: you've got a bucket of motor oil. Do you dump this down the drain, or dispose of it properly? Your 5 quarts of motor oil once every 3 months hardly compares to the amount of shit and piss you produce. What does one have to do with the other?

As time goes on, we (hopefully) learn and make better choices. When I was a kid, farmers used to save that used motor oil, then use it to oil their roads, spreading to keep the dust down (and this in California no less). These days I don’t know anyone who doesn’t properly dispose of their used motor oil.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
A local urgent care facility won’t accept controlled substances, which could be what pain medications are. I assume there is some sort of issue about how the laws are different pertaining to narcotics. And if not the law, there have probably been incidents of workers at such facilities taking controlled substances for themselves, and that’s not something a facility +wants to get caught up in.

The fact that people who haven’t been living under a rock for the past few decades still think it’s all right to flush medications is just one of countless examples of how poorly “education” works. And of course there’s the whole, “They can’t tell me what to do! I do whatever I dam’ well please!” crowd who will decide they know better than anyone else what the effects of their actions are, or simply don’t care.

Added:
Medications are different from the bacteria and other stuff that ends up in sewers as part of body waste. Water treatment will kill and remove those things, but the same is not true of the chemicals that constitute many medications. One of the elephants in the room that few people have any interest in recognizing, much less trying to affect are the estrogens in birth control pills and which get passed through in women’s urine. Water treatment measures don’t eliminate those chemicals from the water we ultimately end up drinking and they have been tied to undesirable effects on the rest of us.

But yeah: We know better than all those commie scientists and stuff who would rather inconvenience us by forcing us to dispose of our meds properly rather than just dumping them down the toilet. First thing you know they’ll be putting chemicals in our water to make us vote Democrat that they claim will help prevent tooth decay.

(Glad I’m too old to worry much about such things, but best of luck to the rest of you. And as an aside, “I don’t get it,” is an example of what Richard Dawkins calls the “argument from ignorance”: If I’m incapable of understanding something, then it must not be true, and I can ignore it.)

Thank you sigfreund, I have not been living under a rock for years but just wanted to know why the concern. Did not want to get in an argument here, just did not understand the threat to our water. And what ever is in it will not make me a democrap. Peace brother.

And to all the posters, thanks.

I apologize, hberttmank; all that rant wasn’t directed at you. You did say you were willing to learn, and my response should have been more appropriate.

To use the expression du jour, certain topics trigger me and my responses are sometimes more like a shotgun than a rifle.

My old department collects any and all medications. Once a month the property officer would grab the bag from the collection box in the lobby, and take it to the dump when she went to dispose of old case property. Literally wound up being buried in the dump.

For years they took illegal drugs to the state for incineration. Then the PD got a bill. Started burying a lot of stuff that could be buried after that. It was free vs burning.

I agree that people should look for other options before flushing their medications down the toilet but this is a fairly complex issue and "any pharmacy" likely can't/won't take them.

To start, the majority of the medications being found in our waterways are due to human excretory function, not people dumping meds down the toilet. Drugs are not completely metabolized before being excreted and many of the metabolites have the same effect. Flushing meds is not something you should do but it is not the primary cause of the presence of drugs in the water supply.

DEA regulations and some state regulations do not allow a licensee (pharmacy, hospital, physician, pharmacist etc. to take back controlled substances due to the risk of their being diverted. Most if not all state regulations prevent a pharmacy or licensee from taking back previously dispensed medications for fear they will be reused and possibly inserted back into the supply chain as adulterated drugs. The DEA does allow drug take-back programs that bypass the normal supply chain. So the doctors office, pharmacy etc. can't just take these drugs back unless there are approved programs in their state and they decide to participate.

Many pharmacies, clinics, etc. decline to participate because their is no funding source for the take-back programs. It is expensive to have them destroyed in an environmentally correct method. "Reverse Distributors" have no control over what is placed into a kiosk or take back bin and must treat the contents as if it contains highly toxic substances (which it most likely does). Think of all the cancer and oncology drugs that are prescribed. These substances can't just be taken to an incinerator and burned, they have to go to a specially certified destruction facility which are few and far between. Several years ago Oregon was working to create a statewide take-back program and the two closest facilities were in Texas and Utah. It costs a lot to ship and destroy the drugs and if those costs are not being born by Phrma or somebody, the pharmacies, etc. are many times unwilling to take on the additional costs.

Law enforcement agencies are allowed by the DEA to receive drugs for destruction so your local Law enforcement agency may be your best bet if you want to get rid of the drugs.

In my opinion, drug takeback programs will not become mainstream until the pharmaceutical manufacturers agree to pay for them. Contacting your Congressman or Senator and asking for federal legislation to create and have PhRMA pay for a national take back program is the best path towards having a coordinated program to keep these drugs out of the environment.

quote:

Originally posted by Marc1911:
To start, the majority of the medications being found in our waterways are due to human excretory function, not people dumping meds down the toilet. Drugs are not completely metabolized before being excreted and many of the metabolites have the same effect. Flushing meds is not something you should do but it is not the primary cause of the presence of drugs in the water supply.

Thank you for your comments, which confirmed my limited understanding of the subject. Last year I caught a radio interview with a recently-retired career waste water treatment manager for a municipality and he made similar comments confirming that they could remove bacteria, solids, and various organics, but not the pharmaceutical chemicals excreted in human waste.

I don't flush my old prescription meds, partly out of my general concerns for the environment and in an effort to reduce their levels in human drinking water...but mostly because I save my expired meds should the CME/ EMP/ or Zombie Apocalypse ever occur...but, given that these pharmaceuticals excreted in human waste are the major source for the levels in drinking water I've wondered just how much worse the flushing of meds could be.

Our state runs an annual drug take-back drive sponsored by the DEA, which I hear promoted on radio PSAs.

In MN (FWIW), all Sheriff's departments are required to have a drug disposal locker in the lobby, accessible to all. All drugs, legal/illegal, narcotics or other, are accepted with no questions asked.

Every time it's full , the designated (by the Sheriff) person weighs the contents in the presence of a witness and transports them by hand to the licensed disposal facility where they are weighed again and then incinerated.

A log, which can be inspected at any time by the DEA or BCA, is kept of each disposal.

In my area, only select Walgreens locations have the appropriate drop-box for med disposal. You have to want to do the "right thing".

Many larger LE agencies will also have prescription drug drop boxes in their lobbies.

Good advice

quote:

Originally posted by CQB60:
Good advice

Indeed

Keep the fun stuff for later, take the blood pressure pills to the pharmacy for disposal.