Growing Problem

Many of the approximately 3.9 billion prescriptions dispensed in the United States each year1 will not be used or finished by patients, resulting in a vast reservoir of unwanted and expired medications in communities across America. Some estimates indicate that more than 40 % of prescription drugs dispensed to consumers each year are never actually used.2 These unwanted, unused, and expired medications have the potential to damage the environment if they are disposed of improperly and contribute to the growing problem of unin-tentional poisonings and substance abuse when they are retained indefinitely in local medicine cabinets. Though there are currently no federal regulations regarding disposal of unwanted medications, several government agencies have issued recommendations. This article will review the scope of this national problem and summarize recommendation