[Pharmwaste] Orange County Register article on Walgreen's new med bins

Tue Feb 23 19:05:15 EST 2016

Today, the Orange County Register ran an article about four new Walgreen's locations that will have med take-back bins and the drug abuse problem.  I am quoted along with family members of victims of drug abuse.  Walgreen's - thanks again for taking the lead!

Heidi

********************************************************************
Heidi Sanborn, Executive Director
(916) 706-3420  office  (916) 402-3911 cell  Heidi at CalPSC.org<mailto:Heidi at CalPSC.org>
[cpsc_logo_350_pix]
[cid:image001.png at 01CC57C5.8223CD60]<http://www.calpsc.org/>Web<http://www.calpsc.org/>   [cid:image002.png at 01CC57C5.8223CD60] <http://www.youtube.com/calpsc>  YouTube<http://www.youtube.com/calpsc>   [cid:image011.png at 01CC47A7.7F3D5C20] <http://www.facebook.com/pages/California-Product-Stewardship-Council/260410326394>  Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/pages/California-Product-Stewardship-Council/260410326394>   [cid:image012.png at 01CC47A7.7F3D5C20] <http://twitter.com/CalPSC>  Twitter<http://twitter.com/CalPSC>   [cid:image013.png at 01CC47A7.7F3D5C20] <http://linkedin.com/companies/275758/california+product+stewardship+council>  Linked In<http://linkedin.com/companies/275758/california+product+stewardship+council>
*********************************************************************
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/drugs-705252-prescription-people.html
What to do with old prescription drugs? Four O.C. Walgreens will be take-back sites for medications
Feb. 22, 2016
Updated Feb. 23, 2016 10:19 a.m.
[http://images.onset.freedom.com/ocregister/o2z5u7-b88636869z.120160222163704000gp6f01fv.10.jpg]Walgreens is rolling out a plan to stock stores with kiosks for prescription drug disposal. The DEA has authorized four locations in Orange County to be take-back sites.STEVEN SENNE, AP FILE PHOTO
[http://images.onset.freedom.com/ocregister/reporters/2310_2985.jpg]By JENNA CHANDLER <http://www.ocregister.com/reporter-profile/jenna-2310-chandler> / STAFF WRITER
jchandler at ocregister.com<mailto:jchandler at ocregister.com>

  *   Facebook <http://www.ocregister.com/articles/drugs-705252-prescription-people.html>
  *   Twitter <http://www.ocregister.com/articles/drugs-705252-prescription-people.html>
  *   Email <mailto:?subject=OCREGISTER:%20What%20to%20do%20with%20old%20prescription%20drugs%3F%20Four%20O.C.%20Walgreens%20will%20be%20take-back%20sites%20for%20medications&body=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ocregister.com%2Farticles%2Fdrugs-705252-prescription-people.html>
  *   Comments <http://www.ocregister.com/articles/drugs-705252-prescription-people.html#comments>
  *   PRINT<http://www.ocregister.com/common/printer/view.php?db=ocregister&id=705252>
  *   SEND PDF<http://www.ocregister.com/templates/savepdf/pdfWidget.php?id=705252&headline=What%20to%20do%20with%20old%20prescription%20drugs%3F%20Four%20O.C.%20Walgreens%20will%20be%20take-back%20sites%20for%20medications>
Walgreens pharmacies
The DEA awarded licenses to four Walgreens locations in Orange County to take back prescription drugs year-round. The pharmacy would not say when the kiosks will be installed. The locations:
* 3446 W. Ball Road, Anaheim<https://www.google.com/maps/place/3446+W+Ball+Rd,+Anaheim,+CA+92804/data=%214m2%213m1%211s0x80dd29364ab38eed:0x8df3f359e5bcd232?sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjCo7eBm47LAhVL7GMKHXZxCB4Q8gEIHDAA>
* 1826 W. Orangethorpe Ave., Fullerton<https://www.google.com/maps/place/1826+W+Orangethorpe+Ave,+Fullerton,+CA+92833/@33.8587363,-117.9627214,17z/data=%213m1%214b1%214m2%213m1%211s0x80dd2a2f844c37ad:0xbe064a611fc37324>
* 1901 Brookhurst St., Huntington Beach<https://www.google.com/maps/place/Walgreens/@33.6863834,-117.9569127,17z/data=%213m1%214b1%214m2%213m1%211s0x80dd20cca73826f1:0x5d4446a790e5516>
* 13052 Newport Ave., Tustin<https://www.google.com/maps/place/13052+Newport+Ave,+Tustin,+CA+92780/@33.7488614,-117.8130113,17z/data=%213m1%214b1%214m2%213m1%211s0x80dcdbc6d9d14f49:0xeca64d4a99c4fd53>
More disposal options
* The Orange County Health Care Agency recommends pouring the medications into a bag, adding hot water (above 110 degrees), then mixing in kitty litter, before sealing the bag and throwing it away.
* Buy a pre-addressed envelope for less than $5 from some CVS, Kaiser Permanente or Walgreens pharmacies. Drop the envelope in the mail and it will be sent to a licensed facility for destruction.
* Place pills - but not patches, lozenges, creams or any other form - in an Orange County Sheriff's Department drop-box at 11 Journey, Aliso Viejo; 100 Avenida Presidio, San Clemente; 200 Civic Center, Mission Viejo.
* Drop off prescription drugs - but not controlled substances - in the receptacle at the Santa Margarita Water District's lobby, 26111 Antonio Parkway, Rancho Santa Margarita.
* Bring them to the DEA's next "National Prescription Drug Take Back Day" on April 30. Locations not yet determined.
Walgreens will soon give Orange County residents their best option to jettison prescription drugs from medicine cabinets.
For those who bother to get rid of unwanted or expired medications, options have mostly been limited to either tossing them in household trash or flushing them down the toilet, which is legal but discouraged because it could pollute the local water supply.
Now Walgreens is the first large U.S. pharmacy chain to offer a more environmentally friendly alternative.
The chain was recently licensed to install mailbox-type kiosks at four of its 24-hour drugstores in Orange County. The kiosks will be secure, so people can't improperly get their hands on the valuable medications. Walgreens wouldn't say how the medications it collects will be destroyed, but it will likely be by incineration.
It's the first large pharmacy chain to take advantage of a two-year-old Drug Enforcement Administration rule that allows pharmacists to take back the drugs they dispense after receiving authorization. The changes were at first heralded as a major step forward in combating the prescription drug and heroin epidemic. Many heroin addicts first get hooked on prescription opiates before seeking a cheaper, more potent high.
But many pharmacists said they were deterred in earning the DEA authorization because of security risks and red tape.
"Unless you have a couple of attorneys working for you to fill out the paperwork and go through all of the hoops, it's unbelievable," said Jerry Medley, who co-owns Sea View Pharmacy in San Clemente.
Medley said he turns away a couple of people each week who are looking to get rid of their prescription drugs.
Doctors write enough prescriptions for painkillers for every adult in the U.S. to have one bottle of pills. That estimate from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doesn't include the other types of drugs doctors prescribe for conditions such as anxiety and depression (think Xanax and Valium) and that people abuse.
Many patients stash them before their treatment has run its course, saving them for future use and allowing them to pile up at home, where they can become easy scores for brazen teenagers, friends and relatives.
"A medicine cabinet is no longer a safe place for anybody to store certain prescription medications," said Aimee Dunkle, whose son Ben Dunkle died at age 20 of a heroin overdose.
Ben, a Tesoro High School graduate, started using prescription drugs, including Xanax, as a teenager. Aimee's husband once caught one of their son's friends rifling through their medicine cabinet, she said.
"This kid knew exactly what he was looking for."
For that reason, law enforcement and public health officials urge people to destroy the medications.
But they haven't made it easy, with conflicting advice on how to dispose of the drugs. The Santa Margarita Water District has a receptacle for prescription drugs, but not controlled substances - drugs deemed by the government as having the potential for abuse<http://www.dea.gov/druginfo/ds.shtml>. The Orange County Sheriff's Department accepts controlled substances, but only in pill form.
"I get calls from Orange County all the time. Nurses, drug prevention community, parents - they're all trying to figure out what to do," said Heidi Sanborn, executive director of the California Product Stewardship Council, which has worked with counties in Northern California to enact ordinances mandating that drug companies pay for and manage take-back programs.
Her group surveyed 1,700 people in Northern California to find out how they're getting rid of their drugs.
"They go to pharmacies, they get turned away. One person buried the drugs out in the backyard, then watched squirrels dig it up," Sanborn said. "It's unbelievable what we're hearing. People are frustrated. The public is yearning for convenient locations."
Contact the writer: jchandler at ocregister.com<mailto:jchandler at ocregister.com> and @jennakchandler on Twitter

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.dep.state.fl.us/pipermail/pharmwaste/attachments/20160224/ad52341e/attachment-0001.html
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image003.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 757 bytes
Desc: image003.jpg
Url : http://lists.dep.state.fl.us/pipermail/pharmwaste/attachments/20160224/ad52341e/image003-0001.jpg
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image004.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 782 bytes
Desc: image004.jpg
Url : http://lists.dep.state.fl.us/pipermail/pharmwaste/attachments/20160224/ad52341e/image004-0001.jpg
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image005.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 760 bytes
Desc: image005.jpg
Url : http://lists.dep.state.fl.us/pipermail/pharmwaste/attachments/20160224/ad52341e/image005-0001.jpg
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image006.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 750 bytes
Desc: image006.jpg
Url : http://lists.dep.state.fl.us/pipermail/pharmwaste/attachments/20160224/ad52341e/image006-0001.jpg
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image007.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 778 bytes
Desc: image007.jpg
Url : http://lists.dep.state.fl.us/pipermail/pharmwaste/attachments/20160224/ad52341e/image007-0001.jpg
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image008.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 178999 bytes
Desc: image008.jpg
Url : http://lists.dep.state.fl.us/pipermail/pharmwaste/attachments/20160224/ad52341e/image008-0001.jpg
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image009.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 8841 bytes
Desc: image009.jpg
Url : http://lists.dep.state.fl.us/pipermail/pharmwaste/attachments/20160224/ad52341e/image009-0001.jpg
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image010.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 6660 bytes
Desc: image010.jpg
Url : http://lists.dep.state.fl.us/pipermail/pharmwaste/attachments/20160224/ad52341e/image010-0001.jpg
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Orange County Register - What to
	Do With Rx Drugs Four O.C. Walgreens Take Back Sites 2-22-16.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 274346 bytes
Desc: Orange County Register - What to Do With Rx Drugs Four
	O.C. Walgreens Take Back Sites 2-22-16.pdf
Url : http://lists.dep.state.fl.us/pipermail/pharmwaste/attachments/20160224/ad52341e/OrangeCountyRegister-WhattoDoWithRxDrugsFourO.C.WalgreensTakeBackSites2-22-16-0001.pdf