Pharmaceutical Recycling
20So a side conversation in another thread reminded me about a program that had been adopted by most states but not implemented by many and that is the ability to donate old prescription drugs to be reused in hospitals, clinics and especially programs for those who cannot afford them.
My FIL had a ton of drugs that were unused, including a chelation drug that retails for over $70 a pill. Since we had 3 bottles of 350 pills each, I was loath to dispose of them. Unfortunately, NYS is among those that have passed a law but have not yet implemented a program.
Thankfully, the head of pharmacy at our local medical center told me about a donation program out of Wyoming that accepts donations from individuals, including those out of state:
https://health.wyo.gov/healthcarefin/medicationdonation/donate-meds/
They used to have a limited list. Now it appears they will take anything and sort through and dispose of any they cannot use.
You can also check to see if there is a program in your state:
https://www.ncsl.org/research/health/state-prescription-drug-return-reuse-and-recycling.aspx
Hope it’s helpful!
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My state, Missouri, has a non-operational program, only accepts sealed unopened drugs, so its just a write-off to greenwash pharmaceutical companies (Pfizer has a big presence here) and mostly distributors to get rid of old stock for the tax break.
Not knocking it, just saying we can do much, much better collectively. Vote.
@mike808 Sealed and unopened is primarily a safety thing, but I get what you mean. And yes, the minimal program is for pharmacies to re-purpose unused stock which is a good start. Still, seems like if I can buy a sealed bottle of drugs at a pharmacy, I should be able to donate one back to be used to help those who can’t afford them.
I wish this was more readily available. It’s not uncommon to have meds you don’t need due to Rx changes, allergies, pt death etc. I have given some stuff to vets in the past but not everything a person can take can be used for other animals.
@chienfou Indeed. Wish they could just be taken to any pharmacy. Seems like that shouldn’t be too hard. But mailing to the Wyoming program is really easy. The big thing is they have to be unopened to ensure safety. Opened bottles can usually be taken to any pharmacy for safe disposal. Just stinks when they could be helpful. But just because I would never tamper with something, doesn’t mean no one will, thus they simply cannot accept anything where the tamper-proof seal is broken. The most difficult thing was cutting off the name/prescription number from the label, just to protect identification.
@ybmuG
yeah, that “unopened and sealed bottle” thing makes this virtually impossible for the vast majority of drugs dispensed by a pharmacy to an individual. Still, any that can be re-purposed is better than none.
@chienfou NOT recommending it, but I have known a relative (who was also a doctor) who used the remnants of open bottles since they had the exact same prescription. Also not ideal.
@ybmuG depends on how much you trust the source I guess
I think that’s such a good program, needs to be nation wide and with upgrades though. Defiantly well needed!
In Connecticut we can bring old/un-used prescriptions to our state police barracks for disposal and that’s all I know of here. I’d love to see us be able to reissue rx’s that have already been paid for and then not needed for whatever reason. It’s really sad to see people I know and love not take their prescribed medication just because it’s to expensive. To me that’s totally rediculous and SO unnecessary!! Wouldn’t it be awesome if we could get all our medication for a reasonable price or even free?!
Yeah I know, keep dreamin…
Thanks for posting this!
I live in CA. I had never heard of Rx program to be donated & not trashed.
We have a quarterly Rx drug dump run by the local police. So much of most goods get wasted in our country.
I don’t expect the high price of Rx is going to change anytime soon.
I remember reading about a charity in Israel that collects unused medications and redistributes them to people who have a prescription but cant afford the medication. Unfortunately, I was unable to find the charity’s name or information.