Drugs – So Many Drugs – Where to Get Rid of Them!
Your prescription changes – what do you do with the old pills? You have pills that you did not use, and they have expired.
No! You do not throw them in the garbage.
Many pharmacies (Walgreens, CVS, etc.) might advertise that they have medical disposal boxes but, unfortunately, that isn’t always true. If you don’t have a drop-off place for medicines, here’s a tip for you!
The best way to dispose of most types of unused or expired medicines is to drop off the medicine at a drug take-back site, location, or program immediately. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) collects and safely disposes of all medications dropped off at all drug take-back sites.
The DEA’s Diversion Control Division has a website where you can find Year-Round Drop Off locations for controlled substances. All you need is a zip code and it will show you locations as close as 5 miles away.
Here are the search results for our zip code – 92203:
Want to find locations for your house up north or for a family member or friend?
Here’s the web address for the locator:
https://apps.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubdispsearch/spring/main?execution=e1s1
Or you can call the DEA Diversion Control Division Registration Call Center at 1-800-882-9539 for more information about these collection sites.
And remember – before disposing of prescription medicines, be sure to remove all personal information on pill bottle labels and medicine packaging.
Wait! There’s more!
Apparently, for safety reasons, there are a few, select medicines (mainly opioids) with specific instructions to immediately flush down the toilet only if a drug take back option is not readily available. For more details, refer to the FDA’s flush list.
Remember, don’t flush your medicine unless it is on the flush list AND there is no nearby drop-off location.