Drug disposal is the discarding of drugs. Individuals commonly dispose of unused drugs which remain after the end of medical treatment. Health care organizations dispose of drugs on a larger scale for a range of reasons, including having leftover drugs after treating patients. Failure to properly dispose of drugs creates opportunities for anyone to take them inappropriately if they are stored. Inappropriate disposal of drugs can cause drug pollution.
People dispose of drugs in various ways and even organizations with expertise on drugs may give inconsistent information to consumers about drug disposal.
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Sources of drugs to dispose
Consumers who have unused drugs tend to store them rather than disposing of them.
Sometimes normal use of a drug can result in waste. When someone uses a dermal patch, even after the patch is used it will both retain significant potency and also need safe disposal.
Safe Medication Disposal Program Video
Reasons for disposal of drugs
Medical authorities advise that consumers not store any drug which they would not have a reason at present to acquire. Storing drugs creates a possibility that someone will use them inappropriately and suffer harm.
Methods for disposal
Disposal for individuals and communities
The most obvious way for individuals to dispose of drugs is through the household waste management service. Experts advise checking other options first, because simply discarding drugs with other trash creates the possibility that someone could take them and be harmed. Medical authorities recommend against disposing of drugs by passing them on to other consumers.
The best source of local advice will be the community pharmacy. Pharmacies already handle drugs and will recommend what sort of disposal is most appropriate. Many pharmacies will collect drugs and dispose of them as a community service. Some regions have special government services which offer to take and dispose of drugs. Sometimes, either a pharmacy or government service will provide a way to mail drugs to a special drug disposal facility. If one must put drugs into the trash, then a recommended safer way to do that is by mixing the drug with unattractive trash. Putting pills into the toilet can cause drug pollution but this might be justified as a way to quickly dispose of dangerous drugs.
There have been many attempts in the United States to encourage consumers to bring their leftover drugs to disposal centers. Some examples of disposal programs include having a special event in a community center and advertising in advance that people bring their drugs to the event for disposal, or otherwise educating individuals and concerned organizations about the correct way to dispose of drugs. One study reviewing the efficacy of these programs found that their impact was too low to have the desired result of decreasing community access to leftover drugs.
Disposal for organizations and industry
Disposal of large amounts of drugs can cause drug pollution and negative environmental impact of pharmaceuticals and personal care products. Organizations might choose to dispose of large amounts of drugs by returning them to the manufacturer, putting them in landfills, using Incineration, or putting the drugs into the sewers.
Disposal of controversial drugs
Drugs associated with substance abuse and Prohibited drugs get special attention in their disposal. The police might seize such drugs as contraband then need to destroy them. In other cases some legal drugs create risks for abuse and need more care in disposal than drugs which are not attractive for abuse. It is challenging for governments to discuss how to dispose of controversial drugs.
One small regional study in the United States reported the outcomes of a public health program to take back unused opioids. This study found that individuals who returned opioids tended to return more than half of what they were prescribed, which could be an indication that these people had twice as much medication as they wanted. The study was too limited to form a general conclusion, but it provided information to guide further discussion and research on whether people would participate in opioid take back programs, what sorts of drugs are more likely to be returned, and how much people would return.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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