Veterinarians Legally Cannot Take Back Your Pet’s Drugs

Did you know that human and animal pharmacies are not allowed to take back controlled drugs that have been dispensed?

Pikes Peak Vet gets a lot of requests to take medications back that pets didn’t need, didn’t like or are expired and just sitting on the shelf. While we would love to do that, once dispensed, the government does not allow us to take those meds back, even if we promise to destroy them properly.

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association:

• Over-the-counter and prescription medications – for both humans and animals – are now a leading cause of poisonings in our pets. Visit 10 “poison pills” for pets to learn more.
• Neither septic tank systems nor municipal sewage and water treatment facilities can eliminate all pharmaceutical contamination poured down drains or flushed down toilets. By disposing of drugs into the water system, the problem is not solved, but transferred to water which we depend upon. A wide range of pharmaceuticals have been found in rivers, streams, groundwater, and drinking water nationwide. Visit The Environmental Protection Agency’s website, Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) in Water, for more details.

To address the problem of overuse of opioids as well as the contamination of of our water supply, the DEA now hosts Take-Back Day twice a year. There are multiple sites where you can drop off any medications that you can no longer use or are expired. THIS SATURDAY, October 29, from 10am-2pm, you can easily dispose of those pesky bottles. Just enter your zip code into the link here and find the closest drop-off site to you.

Can’t make it work this weekend? Walgreens has two locations in Colorado Springs and multiple locations throughout the U.S. that will take back what you don’t want. These sites contain drop boxes to accept most of what you need to safely dispose of including:

• Prescription medications, ointments & patches
• OTC medications, ointments, lotions & liquids
• Pet medications *Vitamins*
• Aersol Cans
• Inhalers

They will not accept:

• Needles & thermometers
• Hydrogen peroxide
• Illegal drugs

You may take your items to one of the following:

• 1855 SOUTHGATE RD, COLORADO SPRINGS, CO 80906
• 23480 N ACADEMY BLVD, COLORADO SPRINGS, CO 80917

Please help us curtail the drug overdose epidemic that plagues the United States and help keep our water supply clean and fresh.