Medication Disposal Initiative

For many people, once their medications are expired or no longer needed, bottles begin to collect on the shelves of their medicine cabinets. While seemingly harmless, consider the following: the majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from friends and family and often come from home medicine cabinets.

So this problem can be solved by throwing unused and expired medications in the trash, right? Wrong. Changing the location of these sometimes toxic medications does not change their accessibility. In fact, for those looking to abuse medications or for curious children and pets, the trash can may be an ideal, unmonitored location. OK, then people can simply flush them down the toilet, right? Not unless you want medications to show up in your water supply and the environment. So how do we dispose of unused and expired medications?

St. Louis College of Pharmacy (STLCOP) and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will provide convenient drop-off locations on the STLCOP campus that will enable people to properly dispose of unused and expired medications. Details are as follows:

DATE: Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011
TIME: 7 a.m.-4 p.m.
LOCATION: St. Louis College of Pharmacy, 4588 Parkview Place, St. Louis, MO 63110 
                   Drive thru: Parking lot adjacent to Whelpley Hall (Parkview Place, west of Taylor Ave.)
                   Walk up: Northwest entrance of STLCOP (Parkview Place and S. Euclid Ave.)

Can't make it on Oct. 27? The DEA has scheduled a National Prescription Drug Take-Back day on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at various locations throughout the city of St. Louis. Learn more and find a location by visiting their Web site.     

Learn more about how to dispose of medications safely by exploring our web resources below. Questions? E-mail medicationsafety@stlcop.edu. 

ST. LOUIS MEDICATION DISPOSAL PROGRAM  (10/27) AND DRUG TAKE-BACK DAY (10/29)
* Events being held in St. Louis Oct. 27 and 29 will help citizens to safely dispose of their unused and expired medications.
FIND YOUR NEAREST 10/29 DEA COLLECTION SITE (click on "find a collection site near you")

POSION AND ABUSE PREVENTION
* Each day, 2,700 teenagers abuse a prescription drug for the first time. Protect your family.

RESPONSIBLE DISPOSAL
* By turning unused and expired medications in, you are helping to make your community safer.

ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS
* Pharmaceutics enter our wastewater from a variety of sources, including the flushing of medications. Help keep them out of the environment.