During my treatments for breast cancer,
I took pills. Lots of pills, all shapes and colors, all for different
issues. After a while, when I would take Pill #1 - it would cause a side
effect - and then I'd need Pill #2 to chase off the side effect from
Pill #1. This often seemed pointless, but because I wanted to survive, I
just kept refilling those prescription and taking those pills. I had a
stockpile of prescription pills and a spreadsheet for my medication
schedule. Finally when treatment was over, I was afraid to throw away
the remaining pills because they felt like a security blanket. The pills
had become my weapons against recurrence, and I didn't really want to
part with them. Like many patients, I took estrogen-lowering drugs for 5 years after primary treatment, and then kept the extra pills in the back of my medicine cabinet. Finally, on National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day,
an initiative of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), I gathered up all
my hoarded pills and took them to a nearby Sheriff's Office.
At a National Take-Back Day, volunteers accept packages of prescription medicines that are brought in by people like me and you. Most pills will be received, although an Epi-Pen and an old bottle of Mercurochrome that I had were rejected. The pills will be put into a bag for medical waste, and all the packaging will go into the trash. DEA agents will collect the bags of medicines - they took in 244 tons in 2012 - and these will be incinerated in special kilns that do not release fumes into the air.
Although none of my drugs would give you a thrill if you tried them, one reason the DEA collects these is to prevent drug abuse. Many young people get their recreational drugs right out of the family medicine chest, and can become addicted. Prescriptions are abused more than street drugs like cocaine, hallucinogens, and heroin in total. One other reason to properly dispose of drugs is to keep them out of the water supply. Flushing drugs may seem to be a safe disposal method, but when too much of those wind up in your tap water, you've got a problem.
If you didn't make it to your local Drug Take-Back event this year, and you still have drugs to dispose of, talk with your pharmacist or doctor. They can help you find the right place to take those pills.
At a National Take-Back Day, volunteers accept packages of prescription medicines that are brought in by people like me and you. Most pills will be received, although an Epi-Pen and an old bottle of Mercurochrome that I had were rejected. The pills will be put into a bag for medical waste, and all the packaging will go into the trash. DEA agents will collect the bags of medicines - they took in 244 tons in 2012 - and these will be incinerated in special kilns that do not release fumes into the air.
Although none of my drugs would give you a thrill if you tried them, one reason the DEA collects these is to prevent drug abuse. Many young people get their recreational drugs right out of the family medicine chest, and can become addicted. Prescriptions are abused more than street drugs like cocaine, hallucinogens, and heroin in total. One other reason to properly dispose of drugs is to keep them out of the water supply. Flushing drugs may seem to be a safe disposal method, but when too much of those wind up in your tap water, you've got a problem.
If you didn't make it to your local Drug Take-Back event this year, and you still have drugs to dispose of, talk with your pharmacist or doctor. They can help you find the right place to take those pills.
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