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National Drug Take Back Day is on October 26th this year, and I’m excited to share with you all the quick and easy ways that you can do to properly dispose of your used or expired medications. As some of you may know if you’ve been following my blog for a while now, I’m a fourth-year pharmacy student, which means proper drug disposal and patient education is one of my many passions. So many individuals don’t understand the dangers of improper drug disposal on our environment and our loved ones that I figured it would be a great topic to discuss in today’s post, especially since the date is slowly approaching!
Disposal of expired medications can take many different forms, such as flushing them down the toilet or drain to throwing them into the garbage. Or better yet not throwing them out at all and letting them sit inside the medicine cabinet. What you may not realize is the damage of just simply tossing old medications into the garbage can be on our environment or how it can lead to drug diversion or drug abuse. I’ve been working in a pharmacy for many years, and you’d be surprised about the number of stories that I’ve heard about children accidently ingesting medications, teenagers getting addicted to their parent’s pain meds, or even loved ones overdosing on opioids.
All of these accidents and incidents can be reduced by simply getting rid of any medications that you aren’t taking anymore or that are expired and removing them from your home. One of the top offenders of drug overdose or drug diversion are narcotics, or better known as prescription pain pills. Many patients will get started on pain managements for a procedure or surgery, which can lead to dependence later on. Dependence = drug diversion or overdose. According to DrugAbuse.gov, 18 million people in the US, over the age of 12, have misused medications at least once in the past year. That’s an insane amount of people!
In an effort to assist in reducing this statistic and bringing more awareness about the opioid epidemic that is plaguing millions of families, LifeInCheck created a Consumer Drug Take-Back Program that provides consumers with a safe, viable option to discard their unused or outdated prescription or over-the-counter medications in a secure receptacle located across the US.
The LifeInCheck Consumer Drug-Take Back receptacles are super easy to find and to use. To find a receptacle near you, click on the LifeInCheck website here and type in your city and state or zip code and a search radius. It’ll then pull up a list of safe drug take-back locations in your area. The website will also find other drug take back locations near you, so either way you can find a location that’ll help you dispose of your medications properly. I definitely want to encourage you to click on the link (here) and to find a LifeInCheck location near you! The task may seem small, but you’ll be saving lives and the environment with this simple act.
So how do you use it and what can you bring to dispose of?
The receptacles are super easy to use, like I mentioned before. Once you find a receptacle in your area, simply pull the drawer open, drop your medications inside, and close the door! You do not have to remove any labels or markings on the bottle before disposal.
Drugs that are accepted at the receptacles are :
- any unopened or expired prescription medications (including Schedule II-IV control substances)
- pet medications
- any expired or unopened over-the-counter medications
What if there’s no LifeInCheck Drug Take Back receptacle near me?
There are a few other ways that you can safely dispose of your expired medications. One way is to take old coffee grounds or cat litter, put them into a zip-lock bag or trash bag, and then place your medications inside the bag. This way people will be deterred from ingesting your medications, if they somehow find them in your trash can. Another option is to take them to your local police department. Quite a few of them will have drug take-back days and will take your old medications off your hands on a regular basis. They’ll dispose of them properly, and you know for a fact that they won’t get into the wrong hands. You may want to call beforehand, just to be sure.
I hope that you guys enjoyed this post! It’s something completely different for my platform, but it’s a topic that is near and dear to my heart, so I hope that you found it helpful and insightful. Make sure you click on the link to find a LifeInCheck Drug Take Back receptable near you today and go ahead and dispose of your expired medications. You do not have to wait until October 26th to get started!
You may also like: 5 Lessons I Learned in My Third Year of Pharmacy School, 7 Simple Tips to Boost Your Self-Confidence, and 8 Easy Ways to Live a More Eco-conscious Lifestyle
