Very good point. People seem to assume that when something expires it just won't be effective, not that it could cause serious damage.

It's very dangerous and unfortunately so many people ignore those dates. I have had almost full bottles of meds I only take when needed, I will always look them up or take them with me to my doctor appointment to show my doctor and ask for a new prescription. I prefer to show what remains especially if it's a medication that could be addictive. I know she knows me well enough to know I am not over indulging but it keeps us both on the same page. And she can dispose of them. I also take all my shot needles to the lab at my doctors office for disposal, they have a huge box for that which is picked up for proper disposal.

I have seen people with drawers filled with medicine bottles from years ago, my sister for example! I made her go through it with me on one of my visits and we disposed of most of the drawers contents. She was happy to have a new drawer lol.

Good habit to go through yearly your medicines and take them to your drugstore or place that will take care of them for you, do not dump into toilets as we don't want all that stuff in the water system. Yes, make sure all whatever you have is disposed of at right places and are safe. They do tell you don't keep old medicines and take them, didn't know that some turn poisonous though. That is something everyone should know and talk to doctors and pharmacists about all that.

Around here they have one day a year when certain pharmacies will dispose of meds for you. It's not often enough! Probably other communities are a lot better about this.

When a pharmacy gave me an antidepressant instead of the antibiotic I was prescribed, the pharmacist (who didn't apologize, and sounded like she couldn't have cared less) told me to "just throw them out." She said they couldn't take them back, but the next time I went to the store I left them on her counter.

I knew of a person who had an epi pen on him at all times. He was helping a neighbor when stung by a bee, the neighbor gave him the shot yet he fell to the ground. By the time the emts arrived, he was dead. His epi pen was out of date so make sure you check yours if you have one.

Thanks A.for this valuable info. We keep an antibiotic for foreign travel and need to Ck whether is poisonous upon expiration. I never dreamed that was a risk

http://www.drugs.com/article/drug-expiration-dates.html

Here's a article that you may find informative.

Lots of things have expiration dates. Whether the item inside becomes poisonous or not shouldn't matter. If the manufacturer (who knows) says to not use an item after a specific date, whether because the item becomes dangerous or simply ineffective, I don't understand how people can be so arrogant as to think such dates can be ignored.

Unfortunately, the recent media frenzy of stories about how it is ok to eat food past the best by and expiration dates won't help people to understand that drugs are a different ball game.

We have drop boxes where anyone can drop medicines for free, whether or not they are expired. I believe it was started to combat prescription pain med abuse.

Unfortunately you can't drop liquids or needles. When my FIL died in February, husband and I took all his medications from the house. 2 huge Walmart bags full. Included in this was his insulin in prefilled syringes and the liquid morphine.

We are finally having our annual medication clean out this weekend and I will be glad to be rid of these drugs.

I agree with Alisande, it should be more than one day!

Also, and this is just my own annoyance, but who the heck thinks it's a good idea to leave enough morphine to kill a person along with an obscene amount of painkillers, muscle relaxers and valium in a house with the grief stricken widow?!? I would like to think that MIL wouldn't do anything but we didn't want to take the chance and that is why we took all his meds in the first place.

People who react to media frenzies can't be expected to use their own thinking and common sense.

You don't always have to wait for the annual drop off to dispose of unwanted medicines. The FDA has instructions for putting them in your trash and under certain conditions some are recommended for flushing. It does sound contradictory to what we've been told but this is the FDA's policy.

.........................FDA............................

Disposal in Household Trash

If no medicine take-back programs or DEA-authorized collectors are available in your area, you can also follow these simple steps to dispose of most medicines in the household trash:1

1. Mix medicines (do not crush tablets or capsules) with an unpalatable substance such as dirt, kitty litter, or used coffee grounds;
2. Place the mixture in a container such as a sealed plastic bag;
3. Throw the container in your household trash;
4. Scratch out all personal information on the prescription label of your empty pill bottle or empty medicine packaging to make it unreadable, then dispose of the container.

Flushing of Certain Medicines

There is a small number of medicines that may be especially harmful and, in some cases, fatal with just one dose if they are used by someone other than the person for whom the medicine was prescribed. To prevent accidental ingestion of these potentially dangerous medicines by children, or pets, it is recommended that these medicines be disposed of quickly through a medicine take-back program or by transferring them to a DEA-authorized collector. If these disposal options are not readily available, it is recommended that these medicines be flushed down the sink or toilet as soon as they are no longer needed. Click here for a list of medicines recommended for disposal by flushing............................

http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/BuyingUsingMedicineSafely/EnsuringSafeUseofMedicine/SafeDisposalofMedicines/ucm186187.htm

My local pharmacy recommends crushing the tablets, dissolving them in water inside a sealable bag (like a ZipLoc) , adding kitty litter, coffee grounds, or dirt and then putting in the trash.

I don't know why the FDA says not to crush but 2 chain pharmacies near me say to crush.

Walgreens will be installing drug disposal kiosks in 500 stores which will allow individuals to drop off prescriptions and expired medicines.

https://consumerist.com/2016/02/10/walgreens-installing-drug-disposal-kiosks-in-500-stores/

Police stations here house the disposal units for unused medications.

I'd really be careful with dissolving and putting into trash? That could easily leech into ground water if not done well? Just a thought.

ETA: I thought you lived in PA Alisande? Looks like they do take back drugs more than once a year.

The CVS I go to has disposal bag kits out on the counter in the pharmacy for free pick up. I have sharps containers here at home that I put all needles in. Those can be mailed in but that is pretty costly. The containers used to be free but not any more. I was happy the lab told me I could bring my needles there for disposable. The pharmacy used to take them but last time I asked they said not anymore.

Thanks for that link, Rob. My county lists only one site, and I never heard it mentioned. I'll have to test it out, but I wouldn't be surprised if they tell me they changed their minds. :-)

Bob, I agree completely. I have good well water, and want to keep it that way.

Maire, thanks for the information. I don't even like the idea of the pills (in any form) going into our landfills, although when I think of all the people contributing to landfills without any concern or thought whatsoever . . . oy.

I would never take an expired drug unless I called the pharmacy and asked if it's okay to take it. The whole idea behind taking medication is to make you well, not ill. Dead drugs should go back to the pharmacy for safe disposal. Do not throw them away. Do not flush them. Take them to the drugstore where they send them to a place who incinerates them.

After my husband died, I was confronted with having to dispose of
hundreds of pain and other chemo treatment pills. At that time, there
were no dispose sites in my area. Today...thankfully...there are several. The
oncologist agreed to accept return of the remaining Fentanyl patches because they were sterile and tamper proof. However...no one would take the pills.

I dumped them all into a huge glass bowl, filled it with straight Clorox bleach and covered it with plastic wrap. Every morning for a week, I stirred the mixture while wearing a face mask to protect me from the odor...and checked for disintegration. The pills never dissolved. They became a gelatinous mass for which I eventually found I had to find another disposal method.

I poured the entire mass into a plastic bag containing kitty litter...to absorb the liquid. Then I inserted that plastic bag into another...into another...into another and finally wrapped it in several layers of newspaper; several final layers of Saran wrap and a final heavy gauge plastic bag. I then deposited the package into the trash bin.

The lesson to be learned from my experience....there's no way bleach and other water purifying chemicals at a water treatment plant will ever break down these medicines. Advising anyone to flush them through their home system to dispose of them is pure lunacy...IMO. I'm appalled that the FDA still recommends such acts. I understand their concern for the safety of children...but there are other more sensible ways of protecting them other than to force this hazardous waste through our already questionable water system.

This past Friday and Saturday were one of the twice-a-year Household Hazardous Waste dropoffs at the county waste handling facility. I had a few hazardous items plus some construction debris to dispose of. It was heartening to see how many other city and county residents were availing themselves of the opportunity to safely dispose of their hazardous waste. It was annoying that they all seemed to arrive at the waste facility just before I got there -- it took about 1 1/2 hours waiting in the truck, inching forward every few minutes until I finally was able to unload the hazardous waste.

I didn't think to look for expired medicines, I'm sure there are some in our house, but I'm not sure they would have accepted them in any case.

One possibility would be to take an old can of paint with quite a bit in the can and pour the pills and stuff into the paint mix it very well. There's no way they could ever be taken or used once fully coated with paint and they would eventually dissolve. Then take the paint can to the chemical disposal area of the dump. They get lots of old paint. I have a septic tank so flushing wouldn't be very dangerous but I think I would prefer to use the paint method

Mixing bleach with any type of chemical is extremely dangerous I would definitely not recommend that. Noxious gas could escape.

I became aware of another really sick and scary scenario. Druggies and wackos watch for obituaries looking for listings of people who might have died due to cancer and other conditions which would have required heavy drugs like morphine and fentanyl, etc. Then during the time schedule for the funeral they hit the house, breaking in searching for the drugs, usually no one would think to get rid of them that fast. My best friend had this happen to her parents house. Luckily there weren't many drugs out, she kept them locked in her dad's big gun safe. But man what sick individuals to prey on people at that time. The police told her they were seeing this happening. They know no one will be home during the funeral and all the information they need is right in the obituary usually. It is a good idea not to have home addresses or too much information that can give the location.

I would never take an expired drug unless I called the pharmacy and
asked if it's okay to take it. The whole idea behind taking medication
is to make you well, not ill. Dead drugs should go back to the pharmacy
for safe disposal. Do not throw them away. Do not flush them. Take
them to the drugstore where they send them to a place who incinerates
them.

I will tell you, I thought this too, but you may not be able to. At least, Pharmacists/pharmacies here (TN) cannot take them back. It's why drug take back programs are being set up in police precincts like the link I gave to Alisande and I already stated was in place here. You're right, it does seem intuitive! I found out in no uncertain terms it can't happen that way. Ironically, I work at a level 1 trauma center (one of the best, even in the nation)---and we couldn't take them back. I don't know if I was the only who complained, but I did say to them, if anyone should be able to take them back, it's us! As of a month or two ago, we do. I'm very glad!

Raven's paint can idea is intriguing. Homeowners are sometimes advised to let old paint dry out before disposal. So if pills were added to the paint and then the paint were allowed to dry out, presumably the pills would be forever encased in dry, solid paint (albeit on the bottom). That sounds as though they couldn't do much damage after that--although I suppose it depends on the ultimate fate of the paint.

It may be that these sites are more common in some areas than in others. I took some outdated meds that I unexpectedly found (a few pain killers from long ago dental procedures) to CVS. They directed me to a Walgreens one block up the street. When I went in, they told me that most of their stores in the area accepted outdated meds from any source. Meaning, not restricted to prescriptions filled at Walgreens.

It seemed similar to other programs in California - paint stores are required to take back old/unused cans of paint (of any source), stores that sell mercury containing normal fluorescent or CFL bulbs are required to take back burned out bulbs, etc. Also, local governments and other entities have programs for proper handling of e-waste and household hazardous waste items. Maybe like facilities aren't common in more rural areas or other parts of the country.

"Maybe like facilities aren't common in more rural areas or other parts of the country."

LOL I'm somewhat the epitome of a country bumpkin in a rural but sophisticated CT area but thankfully, the State of CT is not only current...but in many cases...advanced in their methods of hazardous waste disposal...as are our retailers. Personally...it's been my experience that it's a decision influenced and made at the State level by the Governor. If he/she is on his/her toes regarding the general safety of his/her constituents...these types of waste disposal sites become prevalent. We may be a small State...but we rock when it comes to current, forward looking policies/laws. :-)

Edited to add that my experienced posted above about disposal of my deceased husbands pain/chemo meds was nine years ago. Policies here in CT changed immeasurably within less than a year from that experience. Our Governor and related facilities listened. The need for safe disposal was [unfortunately] great and they did something about it.

In my rural area Home Depot accepts CFL bulbs, and even provides plastic bags for them. The health food store takes used batteries.

When my husband died the hospice nurse came and documented each of the meds. Then she put them in water and then in a plastic zippered bag that contained kitty litter. I would think she was disposing of these per either state or federal law.

"I will tell you, I thought this too, but you may not be able to. At least, Pharmacists/pharmacies here (TN) cannot take them back."

I work in a drug store. We do take prescription and non prescription medication back. We do NOT put it back on the shelf. It goes into our "dead drugs" bin (I should take a picture next time I'm at work), and it gets sent to an incinerator. We do NOT give you back your money on RX drugs. UNLESS it was a mistake we made in filling it. Again, if we dispense the wrong meds, any returned drugs will go into the dead drug bin. We cannot EVER put medication back on the shelf for resale once it has been paid for and left our counter. EVER. But we will take it and dispose of it. ALL drugstores should be able to do that, everywhere. I do know the chain I work for does, Canada Wide. We also give sharpies bins (those yellow containers for used needles) for free to our customers, and will give you a new one when you bring your filled one back. We send the used sharpies to a company who safely disposes of them.

debby, I think she was talking about a "take back" for safe disposal purposes, not a typical "return of a purchase" to a store for refund of purchase price.

Yes, Snidely. I know.

The pharmacies here used to do the free sharps containers and take the filled ones in for disposal unfortunately that has changed in recent years. I had to buy a sharps container it was not that cheap. It comes with a cardboard box that you can seal it up in and put it in the mail to return to them, of course you pay shipping, again not cheap. Then you have to go buy yet another container. So I bought a large hard plastic container with a screw on lid, fill that up, take it to the doctors office lab, dispose of the needles and take my container home. It's ridiculous for us to have to spend that much money for disposal these days. I am sure glad I can get rid of them free. But not everyone has that option. They did at one time have disposal stations at some locations I don't know about that.

It's crazy that they expect you to buy those containers! Safe disposal is more important than anything. I'm glad our company offers this free service to our customers and non-customers alike. My concern is, people tossing dirty needles in the garbage and the wrong people finding them.

Oftentimes at the hospital I work at, I will see "homemade" sharps containers in the hazardous waste disposal. I assume people bring them in to have us dispose of them. You might want to check if your local hospital does that. By homemade, I mean any kind of hard plastic container. I have seem empty widemouthed Tide bottles used, for instance. They are always taped securely at the top, so that must be a requirement.

Uh-oh . . . reading this, it sounds like I didn't do a good job of disposing of the needles I used for my B12 shots. The pharmacy didn't offer me a container, and it never occurred to me. I just put the caps back on the syringes (both ends) and put them in the trash.

If I get the shots again I'll ask about a container. But I'm not optimistic about the response.

I'm just glad I said it MIGHT not work that way. So in some places, it doesn't work that way. Even if it should. Glad you do debby!