[Pharmwaste] FW: Google Alert - unused medicine disposal

Wed Mar 24 13:52:15 EDT 2010

I have another theory.  Just as we've seen a surge in abandoned household waste, we might also be seeing the result of closure or abandonment of convenience stores or any type of store that carries OTC's.  An acquaintance of mine was hired as part of a crew to clean out a few Hollywood Video stores.  Being a dumpster diver by nature, he came home with a large sack of videos (none of them good).  The inside of his truck looks like a flea market jam packed with other stuff he's collected doing this type of work. Unless his experience is not the norm, these crews are typically made up of illegals and others that are paid cash daily for their work.  They scrap and recycle whatever has value, keep what they want and dispose of some. Could be another source.

From: pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us [mailto:pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us] On Behalf Of Barry Fernandez
Sent: Wednesday, March 24, 2010 9:18 AM
To: Sue Dayton; Matthew C. Mireles; Gressitt,Stevan; pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us; rxnews at listserve.com
Cc: linkfilion at communityofcompetence.com; easmith at communityofcompetence.com
Subject: RE: [Pharmwaste] FW: Google Alert - unused medicine disposal

Stockpiles of expired OTC meds can only be coming from one of very few places.  Disposal facilities or reverse distributors.  I'm not suggesting that the businesses themselves are involved in the diversion, but as with any business, inventory sometines tends to "leak" at the hands of employees.  If I were you I'd get in touch with the agency tasked with regulating drugs and cosmetics in your state.  In Florida it happens to be the Department of Health, division of Medical Quality Assurance (MQA).  They can track where the meds originated using the lot numbers.  Expired is one thing, but if these medications were recalled for some reason the risk to the unsuspecting public could be deadly in some cases.

Best Regards,
Barry

Clean Fuels of Florida, Inc.
D. Barry Fernandez, President
2635 NE 4th Avenue
Pompano Beach, FL 33064
Tel: 954-791-9588
Fax: 954-791-9366
Cell: 305-216-4941
Toll Free: 800-725-8711
barry at clean-fuels.net <mailto:barry at clean-fuels.net>
www.clean-fuels.net <http://www.clean-fuels.net/>

________________________________

From: Sue Dayton [mailto:sdayton at swcp.com]
Sent: Wednesday, March 24, 2010 9:29 AM
To: 'Matthew C. Mireles'; 'Gressitt,Stevan'; pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us; rxnews at listserve.com
Cc: linkfilion at communityofcompetence.com; easmith at communityofcompetence.com
Subject: RE: [Pharmwaste] FW: Google Alert - unused medicine disposal

I just went to a flea market in SC outside of Columbia. SAME deal. There was at least 3 troughs (2' x 10 ') holding mountains, piled on top of each other, of various over-the-counter meds. I was flabbergasted!

Where are they getting these?

Sue Dayton

Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League

North Carolina Healthy Communities Program

PO BOX 44

Saxapahaw, NC 27340

(336) 525-2003

sdayton at swcp.com

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.   -  Martin Luther King Jr.

________________________________

From: pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us [mailto:pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us] On Behalf Of Matthew C. Mireles
Sent: Monday, March 22, 2010 2:30 PM
To: Gressitt,Stevan; pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us; rxnews at listserve.com
Cc: linkfilion at communityofcompetence.com; easmith at communityofcompetence.com
Subject: Re: [Pharmwaste] FW: Google Alert - unused medicine disposal

We have been receiving very interesting stories about unused and expired medicines through our new patient safety reporting system called Share Our Stories (S.O.S.).   One in particular deals with unused and expired meds (UEMs) showing up at a weekend flea market...

S.O.S. is an anonymous system for patients and families to report medical adverse experiences as well as give us good suggestions about patient safety and healthcare outcomes.  However, most of the reports that we have received involved adverse medication events (drug interactions) or side effects that presumably caused the patient to discontinue the meds (non-adherence) and stockpile them at home or work.

Excerpt from original story:

I recently went to a local flea market and found many vendors selling medicine. They ranged from tylenol, pepcid, zyrtec, prevacid, to robitussin. Some of the medication, in fact most of it was expired. Some of the med boxes had certain parts of the box torn off. Some of the boxes had a statement that " The makers of Pepcid Complete od not manufacture store brands." I would like to know what the quote means and would also like to know what pottential risks there are to taking expired meds. I am a senior nursing major and medicine is a big part of what

I recently went to a local flea market and found many vendors selling medicine. They ranged from tylenol, pepcid, zyrtec, prevacid, to robitussin. Some of the medication, in fact most of it was expired. Some of the med boxes had certain parts of the box torn off. Some of the boxes had a statement that " The makers of Pepcid Complete od not manufacture store brands." I would like to know what the quote means and would also like to know what pottential risks there are to taking expired meds. I am a senior nursing major and medicine is a big part of what I do. This recent discovery troubles me. Please help. Thank you for your time.

Matthew C. Mireles, PhD, MPH

Community Medical Foundation for Patient Safety

        -----Original Message-----
        From: "Gressitt, Stevan"
        Sent: Mar 21, 2010 6:26 PM
        To: pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us, rxnews at listserve.com
        Subject: [Pharmwaste] FW: Google Alert - unused medicine disposal

        I would be interested if anyone runs into any other examples of this.

        Stevan Gressitt, M.D., Medical Director

        Office of Adult Mental Health Services

        Department of Health and Human Services

        Marquardt Building, 2nd Floor

        11 State House Station

        32 Blossom Lane

        Augusta, ME  04333-0011

        Ph: (207)287-4273

        Fax: (207)287-1022

        Cell Phone: (207) 441-0291

        E-Mail : stevan.gressitt at maine.gov

        http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mh/

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        REDBRIDGE: Warning over bogus medicine collections <http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&q=http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/5074038.REDBRIDGE__Warning_over_bogus_medicine_collections/&ct=ga&cad=7:1:0&cd=g0eIVl7uMXE&usg=AFQjCNFaI0W-njiVy2MmpHXVITwQa-T3Zg>
        Guardian Series
        People with any concerns or questions on the scam or on the disposal of medicines should speak to their GP or local pharmacist. ...

        See all stories on this topic <http://news.google.com/news/story?ncl=http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/5074038.REDBRIDGE__Warning_over_bogus_medicine_collections/&hl=en>

        --

        Stevan Gressitt, M.D., Medical Director
        Office of Adult Mental Health Services
        Department of Health and Human Services
        Marquardt Building, 2nd Floor
        11 State House Station
        Augusta, ME  04333-0011
        Ph: (207)287-4273
        Fax: (207)287-1022
        Cell Phone: (207) 441-0291
        E-Mail : stevan.gressitt at maine.gov
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