A well-known, dirty little secret has emerged from this week's multiple-part Associated Press series on drinking water contaminated with pharmaceuticals.
A caller, Sara Hallstrom of Willoughby, today asked me point-blank, "what am I supposed to do with the 150 Coumadin pills that the doctor told me I shouldn't take?" She said that when she asked the doctor what she should do, he simply told her, "flush them down the toilet."
I'd never heard that before. I learn so many new things at The News-Herald.
Apparently, this practice is very common. A co-worker told me that a pharmacist has told her the same thing. The idea is that by flushing them, you reduce the chance that they'll be found in your trash and end up in the hands of drug dealers.
Too bad the alternative to drug dealers is ending up in my drinking glass before being ingested with my dinner.
I've decided Americans, to protect themselves, need to develop a system by which unused and unneeded prescription drugs can then be collected and given to those who need them but can't afford them. We all know someone who can't afford the medicine they require. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to get them the help they really need — free access to the pills they require?
I'm not sure how to go about this, but the barrier has long been concerns about tampering. So, obviously, the first step in the process would be ensuring the donated pills are safe.
Maybe we can write to our congressmen and women and push the idea. Apparently, our health depends on it.
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1 comment:
While I agree with your hope that we can come up with a plan to distribute unused drugs, I would be happy with just a place to dispose of them safely. The checking of the drugs for consumption may be a huge problem but their disposal shouldn't be. This is a big problem and I hope that it doesn't require a string of high profile deaths to bring attention to it.
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