(Thanks, S. :)

Reader S. writes:

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Re: Anyone know how to dispose of unwanted pha....

My mother was placed on Hospice by her primary care physician. A hospice nurse was assigned. She came in with an emergency 'drug bag containing all types of morphine's, and codeine's to be placed into the refrigerator, as this is considered the ideal the location for all hospice nurses to find.

A few weeks elapsed. My mother's condition did not worsen. We would sit smiling at the hospice nurse every week that she came to examine her. During the exam we exchanged small talk, about our families, her family, friends, etc. The nurse discussed her son's drug addiction, and how she was coping with it. The cost of illegal prescription drugs on the streets and the danger involved in soliciting these drugs.

After another few weeks the nurse informed the doctor the patient didn't need hospice care. The doctor agreed. The alarm bells were silenced.

She went to the refrigerator, removed the 'drug bag', and informed me she was going to dispose of the unopened bag as she proceeded to the bathroom and closed the door behind her. I didn't follow her as I didn't care to interfere with her duties. I was glad mom was alright.

After a few flushes of the toilet she emerged, placed the drug bag into a bag, I signed a few release papers, and she left. Hospice care came to an end.

I now sit here, after reading about how to dispose of 'unwanted pharmaceutical drugs' and wondering just how my mother's drugs might have wound up on the streets of the city. Was the toilet flushing just a ruse to have us believe the drugs were flushed? Or, were the drugs hidden within the nurses clothing to be removed from my home, inconspicuously, and later sold on the streets?

I don't know. If the former scenario is true, it's a disgusting method of flushing dangerous medication into the city sewer system. But if the latter is true, it's one person's disgusting method of abusing an legally approved method of disposing of drugs into an illegal money-making activity.

Sometimes the biggest abusers of our system are those placed in authority.

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