Maybe those leftover pills could have helped someone

 
We've all done it - started to feel better after that bout of whatever and tossed the last few pills. Or maybe the bottle just got pushed to the back of the cupboard, and is sitting there, gathering dust.

What is those pills  - the ones lingering in the bottom of the drawer - could make a difference in someone's life?

A Nova Scotian oncologist is calling on provincial governments to
create a regulated drug recycling program to help some patients get
prescription medication they could not otherwise afford.

Dr. Ron MacCormick of the Cape Breton Cancer Centre said he wants to
see a program that safely redistributes unwanted or unused prescription
drugs.

"I lobby government regularly, almost on a daily basis, for drugs that (patients) just can’t afford," he said.

"I go to drug companies on a regular basis for the compassionate
release of drugs. . . . I think the natural next thing would be the
legal development of a recycling depot for pharmaceuticals."

Dr. Jeff Turnbull, chief of staff at the Ottawa Hospital in Ottawa,
has started recycling unused prescription drugs, saying homeless
people in that city couldn’t otherwise afford them. Even basic things like amoxicillan (the nasty-but-miraculous pink stuff we make our kids swallow for ear infections) and penicillan are next-to-impossible to get when you don't have a doctor, an address, or any money.

In the United
States, there are drug recycling programs in 37 states, while Canada lags behind, with each province able to decide whether or not one could be implemented. (And so far, none has.)

MacCormick said the majority of cancer drugs developed in the
last five years cost $40,000 to $70,000 for a one-year prescription.He said he’s seen patients receive a three-month prescription only
to realize they are not working or are not the best treatment after one
month.

So what happens to them then? Do they get flushed down the toilet? Tossed in the dump?

What would be involved in a recycling program for pharmaceutical drugs?

"You would obviously need the involvement of professional
pharmacists and you would have to be able to ensure the shelf existence
of those drugs.", says MacCormick.

Otherwise, it doesn't look too complicated to begin.

Imagine! A place where you could go and get low-cost medications. Even the uber-expensive ones for conditions like AIDS, Alzheimers, or MS.

Now, if we can just get our governments behind the idea......