Last summer I had a baby. The hospital sent me home with a Rx for Loratab. I needed 3(ish) and they gave me a full bottle, 20(ish). Mike picked up the Rx and came home with the bottle plus an IOU for 3 more. Apparently the prescription called for a certain amount and if they don't fill it EXACTLY then they get in trouble. So I ignored it, since I was flushing the other 17 anyways.
I know, I know, flushing drugs is bad for then environment. Here is my defense. Drug abuse is a huge problem in our society. It turns average American citizens into addicts. Its all over the news, even moms are abusing drugs to get them the extra energy to keep up with
So, a few months go by and I'm back in the pharmacy asking for a refill on Little Bug's Rx for reflux medicine. The pharmacist reminds me of that little IOU still in their system and I tell them to just keep the pills cuz I don't need them. They tell me it is the law to give me the remaining 3 pills and so they can rid of the IOU in the computer system. I tell them the pills will just be flushed anyways so they might as well keep them and I wouldn't tattle.
This is what the pharmacist says next, "They're good drugs, keep them."
Excuse me? "Good drugs?" If I need "good drugs" then I should be in a considerable amount of pain and if I'm in that much pain, I should be in the ER. I'm still flabbergasted.
I then proceed to ask them about disposal sites and they rummage around for a while behind the counter until they find a magnet with a few phone numbers on it for disposal sites. None in Cache Valley. Wow.
So I flushed them.
Sorry fishies. And sorry froggies. But my family will remain intact, if it's the last thing I do.
How can I change this in my community? How can I start a new facility in Cache Valley? How can I raise awareness that "good drugs" never get used for good reasons? Has anyone ever done a project this size and could advise me on how to approach the city, police department, pharmacists, doctors, ect? How can we change the system so I can order 3 instead of 20? Who's with me? How can I change this?
Ok, update: Here is a link to a bill proposed back in September of last year. Also I found the P2D2 Program from Illinois and emailed the teacher who initiated that bill to pass in Illinois. Now what do I do? Is there someone out, maybe USU, that could guide me in the right direction?
2 comments:
That is just crazy what the pharmacist told you. It is Lo crazy to learn that there isn't a disposal site here in cache valley. We still have some morphine patches from his accident that we need to get rid of.
There is a Rx/drug deposit in Cache Valley, I used it when we packed up to move. It is in North Logan's City Office building.
I was told you can also put the drugs inside a dirty diaper rather than putting into the water system, but I know that you use cloth so that is hard.
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