Is it a social conscience or self-interest that should motivate us to dispose of medications safely?
It is funny and amusing to browse around the internet. There is always somebody thinking something interesting somewhere in the world. All you have to do is to find him or her. Take just one story from California as an example. You could, of course, get in your car and drive down to your local pharmacy. Many offer a service to dispose of old and unwanted medications for you. But, the majority of us probably find the effort involved a deterrent. Why go to so much effort when you have a dumpster just outside your door? Who cares anyway? Do you ever wonder what happens after casual disposal? Your local waste management authority comes round to collect the refuse which is then dumped. There is little or no effort to sort the waste. Most authorities simply drive to the nearest landfill site and tip each load on to the growing mound of other rubbish. This pile then rots down as rain washes through it so, sooner or later, dissolved drugs end up in the watertable and potentially get recycled into your drinking water. The medications flushed go more directly into the water supply. So here is the worry. The rivers downstream from you supply water to the local towns and cities. That water supply contains what the experts call a “sub-lethal” cocktail of antibiotics, sedatives, painkillers, hormones and whatever else you so casually threw away. Ambien is, of course, a nonbenzodiazepine hypnotic. I am never reassured by the prefix “non”. In fact, Ambien works in exactly the same way as a conventional benzodiazepine and is probably just as addictive. For this reason, Ambien is listed by the Federal Drug Agency as a controlled substance. You will be pleased and delighted to know that the US Government has your interests at heart. It always wants to protect you and the environment. State and Federal regulations limit the handling and disposal of controlled substances to DEA-authorised individuals and organisations. The DEA’s Office of Diversion Control aims to prevent the diversion of legitimately manufactured (or used) controlled substances into the illegal drug traffic. If there is no-one else immediately available to handle the disposal, the controlled substances should be collected by a law enforcement officer. So, if your local pharmacy has not registered with the DEA, their only way of disposing of your unwanted drugs is to call the cops. No wonder they looked so pleased when you asked. Over the first fifteen months of the program, local citizens have deposited 1,800 pounds of medications (not all Ambien, of course). And do we really want all those bacteria out there to get used to all those antibiotics in the water? If you don’t know the answers to these and other questions of social conscience (or self-interest), take an cheap Ambien and sleep on it.