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How Do You Get Rid Of Expired Prescription Drugs?

The deadline for pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts and Walgreens to reach a deal is fast approaching.
Stephen Cummings | Flickr
The deadline for pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts and Walgreens to reach a deal is fast approaching.

An abundance of prescription medication goes unused or is expired and is at risk of being abused.

This Saturday, April 27, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) holds the sixth annual National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. 

Businesses and government agencies throughout the St. Louis area are participating in the initiative.  You can find a place to drop off unused, unwanted or expired prescription drugshere.

Host Don Marsh spoke with several guests about the initiative and its local impact.  The guests include:

  • Dr. Ross Heller, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Saint Louis University and SLU-CARE Emergency Medicine at Saint Louis University Hospital
  • Chad Sabora, Vice President of Legislative Advocacy and Director of Media at St. Louis Heroin Help.He is a former heroin addict who became addicted after getting hooked on prescription drugs.
  • Amy Tiemeier, Pharmacist and Assistant Professor at the St. Louis College of Pharmacy

Our conversation about National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is a follow-up to a St. Louis on the Air conversation earlier this month.  Host Don Marsh spoke with author David Sheff about his new book in which he says drug addiction is a mental illness.  In a previous work, Sheff detailed his son’s addition to methamphetamine.

According to the DEA, in the five previous Take-Back events, more than 2 million pounds (1,018 tons) of prescription medications were removed from circulation.

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Alex is the executive producer of "St. Louis on the Air" at St. Louis Public Radio.
Mary Edwards is a producer for St. Louis Public Radio's broadcast program, "St. Louis Symphony."
Don Marsh served as host of St. Louis Public Radio’s “St. Louis on the Air" from 2005 to 2019, bringing discussions of significant topics to listeners' ears at noon Monday through Friday. Don has been an active journalist for 58 years in print, radio and television. He has won 12 Regional Emmy Awards for writing, reporting, and producing. He is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, was inducted into the St. Louis Media Hall of Fame in 2013, and named “Media Person of the Year” by the St. Louis Press Club in 2015. He has published three books: his most recent, “Coming of Age, Liver Spots and All: A Humorous Look at the Wonders of Getting Old,” “Flash Frames: Journey of a Journeyman Journalist” and “How to be Rude (Politely).” He holds an honorary Doctor of Arts and Letters degree from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.