Sen. Pam Althoff wrote a good Letter to the Editor that was published today in the Northwest Herald. The topic? Disposing of medications that are no longer used.
Just last week I read somewhere that some police departments collect old prescription drugs and then (hopefully) dispose of them in a way that does not contaminate the planet.
What do you do with old medications? How many bottles of stale meds are in your medicine cabinet or under the counter in the bathroom?
How many folks just flush them? You know ... open the bottles of old meds and dump them in the "big white porcelain bus." Hit the handle a couple of times and put the lid down, so that the family dog doesn't go into orbit? Or even just skip that step and just toss them in the trash and send them off to the dump? (Do kids of today even know what a "dump" is? Just where do those MDC trucks go at the end of the day?)
What police agencies around McHenry County collect old drugs? Any? And what do they do with them? How are they safeguarded before disposal? How are they disposed of?
Does anyone know?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
The best way and the most environmentally friendly way to dispose of all left over narcotic medications is to 'incinerate' them.
The county can contract this out via several McHenry County Funeral homes... making sure an officer remains in attendance until the 'burners' kick on!
This topic was in fact the main thrust of my 2008 campaign. Newark NJ. along with the DEA justs completed 'Project Medicine Cabinet' most recently...
I outlined this very idea for Jack Franks well over a year ago. He researched the idea of my disposal program and found the never in the history of the Illinois Legislature has ANY bill been entroduced on this topic.
To my knowledge Franks did nothing with it. I have the emails as proof.
I actually have the story from the DEA and my own video from my campaign posted on www.dirtykeithvsdirtyharry.blogspot.com
This is, of course, the issue brought up by Democratic Party candidate for Coroner Dave Bachmann.
Thanks for remembering Cal. During my campaign I sent my 'idea' about such a program to the NW Herald. It never saw print nor publication.
Jack Franks never picked up the ball that I entrusted to him on this topic. In light of the hours of work I provided his office by providing an 'outline' of how do go about 'collecting' and 'disposing' of these drugs.
Step 1) Local law enforement and or Coroners office to go to the homes when 'death' occurs. ie: Hospice patients.
Step 2) Police and or Coroners office provide and maintain a secured 'depository.'
Step 3) Each month, each agency brings the drugs to a contracted cremation facility within McHenry County. These can 'rotate' between the funeral homes who have a crematory to keep it 'fair.'
Thank God for the local bloggers! Thanks Gus for the post! Thank you Senator Altoff for "taking up" the cause!
A few years ago when I worked at the Walgreens Dist. Center we disposed of all the drugs that people returned to the pharmacies. Since then that is what I have done with mine. I'm assuming that Walgreens disposed of them properly.
Thanks, Ellen.
I called the Walgreen's in Woodstock, and they don't accept old prescription drugs for disposal.
Maybe the policy varies from pharmacy to pharmacy, or the policy changed over the years.
Post a Comment