NATIONAL TAKE BACK DAY IS APRIL 30TH (FOR DRUG DISPOSAL)

[dlcnurse]

The US Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Agency began this program last year and is offering you the opportunity to get rid of those medications that you are no longer using, or have expired. They do not accept liquid medications and suggest that you mix the liquid with cat liter or coffee grounds to absorb it and then put in in plastic bags to dispose of it. They also cannot take any medications that are in a syringe.

So this is a great time to clean out those medicine cabinets, kitchen cabinets, or where ever you keep your medications and go through your non-prescriptions, and prescriptions and dispose of them safely. You can find where your community is collecting the medications. (Once on the page go to the quick links on the right hand of your screen and it will take you to the program page) Here is the link for you:

http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov

Take the time and go through your medicine cabinets today and get rid of those medicines that you no longer need or that you are no longer taking. Check expiration dates on those non-prescription medications. I would encourage you to mark your calendars and set this as a day to get rid of those medications!

[dlcnurse]

If there is anyone who missed the April 30th take back day, Contact your local police department and make arrangments to take in your expired or no longer using medications. You can also talk with your pharmacists about disposing of medications as well. This is just a reminder that doing a yearly (or more) check of your medicine cabinet may help or divert a child that may be living with you, visiting you from taking medications that are potentially harmful to them. There were over 350,000 deaths last year from drug overdoses. Make your home safe from harm and get rid of those medications that may be just sitting in your home. Choosing to dispose of medications the safe way is the way to go. Contact your local authorities today!

[jimithy]

Very rural areas have limited ways that meds can be disposed of safely. Dissolved meds in garbage dumps and sewage treatment plants get into the aquifer and become a major problem to the environment.

A local company has just started marketing a powder that when mixed with your pills or liquid meds... then a little water... it will form a gel that they say is now safe to toss in the trash. They charge $9.95 for every time you need to dispose of meds.

I'm cheap.

Your local building supply store sells a fast setting joint compound (plaster). It is a dry powder that uses polymers to cause the plaster to harden quickly (20 minutes). Those same polymers make the hardened plaster immune to water. (I soaked some for a month and their was no degradation). Pills or liquid meds can be embedded in this plaster. If you put the hardened plaster in a plastic bag before tossing it in the trash... It would be much better than flushing them down the drain or just tossing the meds in the trash. The cost of the bag of plaster is about $8. You could probably dispose of a hundred batches of meds with one bag of plaster. So it is a very cheap way to isolate your meds from the environment.

NOTE: This method is not mentioned anywhere I know of... therefore there are no experts weighing in about disposing meds in this fashion. Like I said though... if you are going to flush the meds down the drain or toss them in the trash... this is probably a better disposal method.