What do you do with medications that don't work?

Wow...I'm totally amazed that some areas still dump them into the ecosytem! Way back when I was being trained (over a decade ago) we were taught never to put them in the sewer system.

It would be so cool to have a legal and safe drug exchange. I can't tell you how many times, and we've all been there, I shelled out mucho dinero only to take one or two pills because they didn't work. I'm currently looking at diclofenac, tramadol, clonazepam and compazine... And those are still on my night stand. Everything else I have taken and don't currently take is in my night stand just in case. In fact, I found one very old bottle of fioricet. You can tell it's bad when you can smell it.

I usually mix pills with coffee grounds. Makes messy trash.

Rachel

Such an interesting discussion. Glad I thought of it

Gia, I meant to make you chuckle
In general, I do see your point. If I were to get to know someone well, online or otherwise, and know what their medical needs were, I would have no problem offering them my extra medication in a private way. But I wouldn't advertise my meds and their availability, for sure.

Amy, well said. Though I don't think anyone was suggesting that the poor, or those with lower income - of which I am one (I've been unemployed and without health insurance for almost a year now) - don't deserve new medication. I think the discussion was to suggest options, that's all. And of course, this is along the lines of wishful thinking, anyway.

Milo, yeah, there might be some differences based on the fact that you're in a different country with different rules. Esp. the gov't paying for meds and the dr. office taking them back, etc.

I think I'm more comfortable handing my meds in to my pharmacist than my dr. office anyway, to be honest, because my dr. office doesn't actually give me medicine, beyond samples. I don't think his office would even take them. I think I can ask him, though, this question when I see him at the end of the month and see what type of response I get. I'll post it here.

Once I'm sure I won't use a medication (I do keep all pain pills and other useful stuff until they expire), I mix it in with icky trash. I asked at a pharmacy once and they didn't take in extra pills. I wouldn't trust anyone if I was disposing of something someone would use to get high. I agree about not flushing them. Even if I get bad side effects I'll keep a narcotic in the house in case of an emergency. My husband knows that he needs to ask me before reaching in the cabinet, even if it is a really bad situation (so I could tell him how much to take since I have a tolerance and he doesn't). Thankfully we've only had to break into the stash a couple times (like until we could get to the doctor to treat an injury). I try to limit the amount of medications in the cabinet so I don't feel so disabled by my condition. It hurts me mentally to see lots of bottles of stuff. Besides my list I keep I have forgotten most of the meds I've tried. No kids and no people over besides very close friends so we haven't needed to lock anything up yet, although I think that is very important with any medication (not just pain pills). It is a bummer no one can re-use my meds but I see no safe way to do it besides maybe the individually wrapped stuff.

Ok, so now I know, it is an actual FELONY in the US to share, sell or otherwise transfer possession of any known pharmaceudical.

Yeah. I know..

I think its BS, especially if you are sharing it with a person who has a script for the same
drug. You can also get in a whole lot of trouble for sodomy too. Law is a funny thing, isn't it?

Follow it if you believe it and it's a moral and just thing to do. Break it if it is just g-d*mn stupid.