The West Virginia Board of Pharmacy is researching the benefits and drawbacks of a potential state program that would redistribute unused medications to low-income individuals.
Some of the issues involved with this plan include potential contamination and access to unused medications, since many West Virginia hospitals currently ship off expired drugs to the manufacturer.
The state already has the program West Virginia Rx to provide free medications to low-income individuals, but these drugs are donated from pharmaceutical companies and not recycled.
A 2008 BlueCross BlueShield report cited West Virginia as the most medicated state in the U.S., with an average of 17.4 prescriptions per person. While 36 states currently have drug recycling programs, West Virginia is not one of them.
Regardless of where you live, use Earth911 to find an event or program to properly dispose of outdated medications in your area.
