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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Friday, March 2, 2007 New way to dump old meds Pioneering 'drug take-back' program could help keep water safe By Jeff Switzer / Herald Writer Doctors used to tell you to flush your old medicine down the toilet or drop it in the garbage. But around the country and especially in the Puget Sound region, there's a push to collect unused prescription drugs and other medications for incineration. An experimental "drug take-back" program at seven Group Health pharmacies has collected about 300 pounds of medications since October. The program is expected to add more locations this month. Group Health and the state Department of Ecology are part of a growing coalition trying to get manufacturers to take back old medicine the way some programs target TVs and other electronics. "This is really the first disposal system like this across the nation," said Shirley Reitz, Group Health Cooperative associate director for clinical pharmacy services. "Nobody else has figured out how to do this." Each week at Group Health's pharmacy in Everett, patients fill up two or three buckets with old medicines for disposal. And the program is becoming more popular, Everett pharmacy manager John Lienhard said. It's better than the alternative, state officials said. Flushed drugs threaten to pollute the region's waterways. But if they hang around the house too long, there is increased risk they'll lead to accidental poisonings of people or animals. " 'Flush them down the toilet' - that's what we were always told and that's what I told patients for years," Reitz said. "We didn't want to toss them in the garbage can because of the danger to small children or animals." But some studies show drugs linger in the water and can threaten aquatic life. "We're not saying they are out there in mass quantities, but we're finding a lot of (drugs) and a lot of variety at very small levels," said Emma Johnson, a resource efficiency coordinator for the Department of Ecology. "We know that these chemicals aren't persistent, but they are constantly being released into the environment from our use and disposal." Since 1998, the U.S. Geologic Survey has been developing ways to measure drugs and contaminants in streams and the environment. In 1999 and 2000, the U.S. Geological Survey evaluated 139 streams in 30 states throughout the United States. They found a mixture of human and veterinary drugs, including antibiotics, natural and synthetic hormones, insecticides and fire retardants. Group Health shares concerns about the environment, but its top priority is patient safety, Reitz said. Since October, people have turned in over-the-counter cough and cold medicine and painkillers, inhalers, ointments and prescription drugs, Johnson said. Some hypertension drugs also were turned in, and officials were surprised to see some expensive anti-rejection drugs for transplant patients. Group Health's program is the most extensive experiment of its kind in the country, said Sego Jackson, a principal planner in Snohomish County's solid waste department. "We're looking for a system that can be put on the ground immediately and be as convenient as it is to purchase your pharmaceuticals," he said. "Ultimately, it should be an industry-run program like in British Columbia," Jackson said. "The manufacturers and their distributors are going out to the pharmacies. Because they have those business relationships, they have more capability to roll out a program statewide, rather than state or local government." In British Columbia, 750 retail pharmacies accept old medicine, all paid for by the pharmaceutical companies, Johnson said. Federal drug and environmental regulators issued new guidelines this month on how to properly dispose of prescription medicine until a widespread drug take-back program is in place. They say to flush old medicine only if the drug maker says it's OK. Otherwise, mix old pills with kitty litter, coffee grounds or dirt and seal the mixture in a nondescript container in the trash. The local drug program needs the federal government's permission to take one last, important step. Next week, the state Board of Pharmacy plans to ask for federal permission to accept narcotic painkillers in the take-back program. "The concern is if we don't get exemption from the DEA, in the long term the program is not sustainable," Group Health's Reitz said. More information about Group Health's drug return program is at www.ghc.org/pharmacy/medicationdisposal.jhtml.

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