My father's recent death left us with a problem - what to do with the gaggle of prescription drugs he accumulated near the end, and no longer needed. Some were unopened, but could be used by someone. Plus I was concerned after hearing of home invasions after a senior dies - druggies looking for the morphine, oxycontin and whatnot. NOT ON MY WATCH!!!!
I'll donate them back to the hospital for those who can't afford medicine.
NOPE - they can't take them. They are controlled. No exceptions.
Hospice will know where I can take them. They deal with people in need of medications.
NOPE - They tell me to put them in a baggie filled with soapy water, coffee grounds, or cat litter. Then bury them in my garbage. (Our Hopsice nurse told me of a time she logged in $150,000 in prescriptions for a deceased patient - an entire tabletop full - then advised disposing of them in cat litter. What a waste.)
But these are good drugs! And expensive! And some are unopened!
But they are also controlled, and cannot be passed around willy-nilly.
You CANNOT just dump them down the toilet - which is what my pre-enlightened self would have done. Now we know about the fish swimming with extra gills due to the hormones released with discarded drugs which then leach into our waters.
Don't just toss them into the trash either - there are druggies going through trash daily looking for drugs. Prescription abuse is such a rampant problem, you just CANNOT contribute to it. Not a good idea.
After filling our double baggie with a colorful concoction of my dad's drugs, and praying some nutjob doesn't find it in the garbage, I have found out the Sherriff's Department sponsors a Drug Take Back day. I wish I had of known.
THE SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT PARTNERS WITH THE DEA AGAIN IN THE
NATIONWIDE PRESCRIPTION DRUG TAKE-BACK DAY
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department will once again partner with the Drug Enforcement Agency and collect potentially dangerous, expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs for destruction on Saturday, April 28, 2012, from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. There will be three collection sites within the Sheriff’s jurisdiction:
|
Sheriff’s Garfield Station |
5510 Garfield Avenue |
Sacramento, CA 95841 |
|
Sheriff’s Florin Station |
7000 65th Street |
Sacramento, CA 95823 |
|
Rancho Cordova Police |
2897 Kilgore Road |
Rancho Cordova, CA 95670 |
|
Antelope High School |
7801 Titan Dr |
Antelope, CA |
The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
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