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<DIV>Jennifer, </DIV>
<DIV>I totally agree on all counts especially Thanksgiving. You all work
so hard for the well being of our world. I am thankful for all of you as
well.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=0 size=3 face="Comic Sans MS" FAMILY="SCRIPT" PTSIZE="12">Veora
M Little, CRNA, <BR>Operation Medicine Cabinet, Volunteer Coordinator, Collier
County Florida<BR>h 239-649-6042 c 239-450-2883<BR><A href="mailto:veoralittle@aol.com www.drugfreecollier.org">veoralittle@aol.com</U>
<U>www.drugfreecollier.org</A> </U></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=0 size=3 face="Comic Sans MS" FAMILY="SCRIPT" PTSIZE="12"><U></FONT></U> </DIV></DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>In a message dated 11/24/2010 10:31:01 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
Jennifer.Volkman@state.mn.us writes:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px"><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial>Nooooooooo! They have to include controlled substances! What
part of this do people not get? The environmental argument for collection is
not as strong as the arguement to reduce the potential for poisoning, abuse
and overdose. Just move the collection site to law enforcement. When/if the
rules change on possession of CS, move it to the pharmacy.<BR><BR>But they are
talking and that is good.<BR><BR>Happy Thanksgiving to
all!<BR>JV<BR><BR>________________________________________<BR>From:
pharmwaste-bounces@lists.dep.state.fl.us
[pharmwaste-bounces@lists.dep.state.fl.us] On Behalf Of Tenace, Laurie
[Laurie.Tenace@dep.state.fl.us]<BR>Sent: Wednesday, November 24, 2010 9:24
AM<BR>To: pharmwaste@lists.dep.state.fl.us<BR>Subject: [Pharmwaste] Pharma May
Pay to Dispose of Your Old
Medicines<BR><BR>http://www.baycitizen.org/health/story/pharma-may-pay-dispose-old-medicines/<BR><BR><BR>Pharma
May Pay to Dispose of Your Old Medicines<BR><BR>Faced with the prospect of
being forced to pay for the disposal of unused medications, pharmaceutical
companies in San Francisco appear to be getting on board with an effort to
create a voluntary cleanup program.<BR><BR>The Board of Supervisors had been
scheduled to vote Tuesday on the San Francisco Safe Drug Disposal Ordinance,
which would require pharmaceutical companies who sell their products in the
city to pay for a program to help consumers dispose of unused drugs. If the
measure were to be approved, San Francisco would become the first city in the
country to create such a mandatory program.<BR><BR>Instead, Supervisor Ross
Mirkarimi, who authored the legislation, announced at Tuesday's meeting that
he'd recently met with "several dozen representatives of the pharmaceutical
industry" in an attempt to create a voluntary pilot program. The supervisors
agreed to put off the issue for two weeks to allow the negotiations to
proceed.<BR><BR>Under one of the plans being discussed, one pharmacy in each
of the city's supervisorial districts would voluntarily collect unused drugs,
as long as they're not controlled substances like oxycontin, according to
Melanie Nutter, director of San Francisco's Department of the Environment, who
is participating in the talks. Five police stations in the city would also
participate, since they would be able to take controlled
substances.<BR><BR>The pilot program in San Francisco would be largely
financed by the pharmaceutical industry, but would cost the city some money
because Environment Department staff would spend time administering
it.<BR><BR>San Mateo County currently offers drug disposal at police
departments in more than a dozen cities, including Atherton and South San
Francisco. That program has collected 15 tons of old drugs over the past four
years at a cost of just $60,000, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. No
other Bay Area county has a year-round drug take-back program.<BR><BR>The goal
of such programs is to help prevent both accidental poisonings and
environmental contamination from leftover drugs. Nationally, an estimated
71,000 children are seen in emergency rooms each year because of medication
poisonings, unrelated to recreational drug use, according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention. More than 80 percent of those poisoning occur
because an unsupervised child found and consumed medicine.<BR><BR>When people
do try to get rid of their old drugs, they often don't know what to do with
them. Wastewater treatment plants are not equipped to filter out medicines, so
drugs flushed down the toilet or poured down sinks can end up contaminating
local waterways, including San Francisco Bay. When pills are thrown in the
trash, they can leach into the environment via landfills.<BR><BR>"We want to
protect the natural environment and our water by making sure pharmaceuticals
don't end up there," Nutter said.<BR><BR>For the past year and a half, San
Francisco has offered residents the opportunity to mail away their expired
antibiotics and unused Prozac for incineration. So far, about 9,000 envelopes
have been distributed, but each one costs the city $3.75. "It's a very costly
program," Nutter said. But the popularity of the program - which was not
widely publicized - has left the city looking for a more sustainable
solution.<BR><BR>"San Francisco is surrounded by water and you've got a very
environmentally aware public," said Heidi Sanborn, executive director of the
California Product Stewardship Council, who has advised San Francisco on drug
disposal. "You've got the public demanding a program, because they're
concerned about their water quality, but there's no money."<BR><BR>The
pharmaceutical industry has made clear it would be loath to conform to a
variety of local ordinances.<BR><BR>"In discussions with San Francisco
officials, we've offered to assist them with an interim pilot program to help
us learn more about proper disposal of unused medicines before implementation
of federal regulations," reads a statement e-mailed to The Bay Citizen from
the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association of
America.<BR><BR>The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is currently working
to create national rules that "will provide uniform nationwide standards and
will allow us to avoid a confusing patchwork quilt of differing state and
local pharmaceutical take-back programs," read the statement. The new
guidelines are not expected to be completed for months.<BR><BR>The San
Francisco Board of Supervisors will hear more about the issue on Dec.
7.<BR><BR>Laurie Tenace<BR>Environmental Specialist<BR>Waste Reduction
Section<BR>Florida Department of Environmental Protection<BR>2600 Blair Stone
Rd., MS 4555<BR>Tallahassee FL 32399-2400<BR>P: 850.245.8759<BR>F:
850.245.8811<BR>Laurie.Tenace@dep.state.fl.us<BR><BR>Mercury:
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/categories/mercury/default.htm<BR><BR>Batteries:
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/categories/batteries/default.htm<BR><BR>Pharmaceuticals:<BR>http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/categories/medications/default.htm<BR>To
join the Pharmwaste listserve:
http://lists.dep.state.fl.us/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/pharmwaste<BR><BR>Household
Hazardous
Waste:<BR>http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/categories/hazardous/pages/household.htm<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>The
Department of Environmental Protection values your feedback as a customer. DEP
Secretary Mimi Drew is committed to continuously assessing and improving the
level and quality of services provided to you. Please take a few minutes to
comment on the quality of service you received. Copy the url below to a web
browser to complete the DEP survey:
http://survey.dep.state.fl.us/?refemail=Laurie.Tenace@dep.state.fl.us Thank
you in advance for completing the survey.<BR><BR>---<BR>Note: As a courtesy to
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http://lists.dep.state.fl.us/cgi-bin/mailman/roster/pharmwaste<BR>FOR
PROBLEMS: Contact List Administrator
Laurie.Tenace@dep.state.fl.us<BR>SEND MAIL to the list server at:
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listserv subscribers, please post messages to the listserv in plain text
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recipients.<BR>---<BR>TO SUBSCRIBE, go to:
http://lists.dep.state.fl.us/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/pharmwaste <BR>TO
UNSUBSCRIBE, DO NOT REPLY TO THE LISTSERV. Please send an e-mail to
pharmwaste-unsubscribe@lists.dep.state.fl.us -- the subject line and body of
the e-mail should be blank.<BR>If you believe you may be subscribed with a
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