While pharmacies promote cleaning out of medicine cabinets when spring comes, patients can actually return their expired or unused medications to pharmacies at any time during the year. Registrants are being asked to remind patients that throwing unused drugs in the garbage or flushing them down the drain is not advised, and patients should return them to pharmacies for environmentally safe disposal.
Patients should also be reminded that medication needs to be safely stored in a place where there is little fluctuation in temperature such as a kitchen or a bathroom (a locked container is recommended for controlled medications).