LAYTON, Utah (AP) — States are increasingly collecting unused and expired prescription drugs from America’s medicine cabinets, with several reporting a record haul in 2009.
As the programs grow, some worry about sustaining the locally funded efforts and are floating legislation to have pharmaceutical companies foot the bill.
Initially motivated by concerns about flushed pharmaceuticals reaching drinking water supplies, programs are also surging for another reason: prescription drug overdoses. Utah, for instance, saw a 500 percent jump in the number of deaths attributed to pain medications between 1999 and 2007.
In Utah, nearly 40 medication-collection bins have been placed in police department lobbies. State officials say 5,000 pounds of unused medications have been collected since 2007.
