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<DIV><SPAN class=901343816-05062008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>I've
given up on finding hard statistics and have started going with the simple
anecdotal approach...</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=901343816-05062008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=901343816-05062008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>If you
just think about how much medication you take vs. how much you throw out, you
get an idea of the percentage that is excreted vs. that which has the potential
to be directly sewered. It will certainly vary per household and the more
prescriptions a person is on, the more likely it is that the waste percentage
will increase due to periodic prescription adjustments. Either way, it is
true that the majority of what we measure in water is excreted. WQ
programs here in MN are aware of this and are working on treatment issues.
Regardless, they feel very strongly that MN needs a waste pharm collection
system and that prevention efforts by the healthcare industry are
also parts of a whole solution. </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=901343816-05062008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=901343816-05062008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>The
group most interested in collecting waste pharms in MN right now is law
enforcement and this is due to the abuse potential of "controlled substance"
pharms (~10% of what is typically collected). Prescription drug abuse
continues to rise and with that, you can guess that related crime has increased
and that the elderly and others dependent on some of these pharms are
particularly vulnerable. These days, if your teen has a party, you have to
make sure you don't have any accessible CS in the medicine cabinet, along with
hiding the booze. I believe the greatest benefit of pharm collection
is a reduction in the amount of CS pharms available for abuse. Law
enforcement present at one event here in MN estimated the street value of the CS
they collected to be $20,000. Based on the willingness of law
enforcement to be a critical part of collection activities here in
MN, you should be able to work with law enforcement in your area to gain
support for your collection efforts. Technically, only law
enforcement can possess CS, so you need them involved anyway. They can
provide security and could be talked into covering at least a portion of the
costs for advertising, properly managing the controlled substances or
whatever else you can think of. </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=901343816-05062008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B>
pharmwaste-bounces@lists.dep.state.fl.us
[mailto:pharmwaste-bounces@lists.dep.state.fl.us] <B>On Behalf Of </B>Rachel G.
Smith<BR><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, June 05, 2008 7:54 AM<BR><B>To:</B>
pharmwaste@lists.dep.state.fl.us<BR><B>Subject:</B> [Pharmwaste] Research on
Contaminants in Canadian and EuropeanWaters?<BR><BR></DIV></FONT>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">Hello,<BR><BR>I was wondering if
anyone has any kind of pre/post data from regions where there has been a
comprehensive drug return system in place for some time (I'm thinking Canada
and/or Europe).<BR><BR>I was reading through the responses of Dr. Shane A.
Snyder of the Southern Nevada Water Authority to questions posed by the Senate
Committee on Environment and Public Works. In Dr. Snyder's words, "the
majority of compounds detected in source waters are not the result of improper
disposal, but rather are attributable to human excretion of non-metabolized
medications." <BR><BR>I have, of course, heard this before, but usually
from drug manufacturers and not from an individual representing water
treatment facilities. It stands to reason that, if this statement is
indeed the case, then pre-return-program data would not differ considerably
from post-program data. At least that would be the closest we may be
able to get to a controlled experiment.<BR><BR>Does anybody have or know if
this kind of data? If so, could you please send it to me or let me know
where I could get it.<BR><BR>In case you're wondering, I'm coming at this
issue from an environmental education perspective. We have very limited
funds and, if some sort of return mechanism were to be put in place in North
Carolina, we would want to make sure that dedicating funds to its promotion
would be going towards solving this issue.<BR><BR>I appreciate everyone's time
and help in this matter!<BR><BR>Sincerely,<BR>Rachel Golden Smith<BR>
<DIV class=moz-signature>-- <BR>Rachel Golden Smith <BR>Adult Environmental
Education Program Manager <BR>Office of Environmental Education <BR>NC
Department of Environment and Natural Resources <BR>1609 Mail Service Center,
Raleigh, NC 27699-1609 <BR>919-733-0711 (phone) 919-733-1616 (fax) <BR><A
href="mailto:rachel.g.smith@ncmail.net">Rachel.G.Smith@ncmail.net</A> <BR><A
href="http://www.eenorthcarolina.org"
target=_blank>www.eenorthcarolina.org</A> <BR><BR>Check out the <A
href="http://eco-smartconsumer.blogspot.com/" target=_blank>Eco-Smart Consumer
Blog</A>! </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>