Are Enough People Flushing Vicodin Down the Toilet that We Really Need to Throw Away Unused Pills in Cat Poop?

#1.) The term "Unused" Vicodin is infringing on oxymoron territory.

#2) You gotta be kidding me.

#3) I'm volunteering to work "take-back" day.

Once, patients were told to flush old drugs down the toilet. No more _ do not flush unless you have one of the few prescriptions that the Food and Drug Administration specifically labels for flushing.

That's because antibiotics, hormones and other drugs are being found in waterways, raising worrisome questions about potential health and environmental effects. Already, studies have linked hormone exposure to fish abnormalities. Germs exposed to antibiotics in the environment may become more drug-resistant.

Some communities set aside "take-back" days to return leftover doses to pharmacies or other collection sites for hazardous-waste incineration. The Environmental Protection Agency recently funded a novel pilot program by the University of Maine to see if consumers will mail back unused drugs _ a program that local officials estimate could cull up to 1.5 tons of medications.

Here in Atlanta, we have no water, so flushing is probably as safe as cat-littering. Personally, I'm waiting for "benzo burn day."

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