Hi all,

I came home this morning to find a note from my landlady attached to some anti-depressants saying that she found them in her letterbox. They don't belong to any of the other tenants and she was wondering if they're mine. They're not. Bit of a mystery how they appeared in her letterbox, but I'm in possession of them now. My question is how do I dispose of them properly? Take them to a pharmacy? A doctor's surgery? I guess there's a procedure for it, but I'm not sure what it is. If anyone can help, I'd really appreciate it.

That is weird, I am guessing there is no name in the box?
I would take it to the pharmacy

When I have some medicaments I don't need or that have expired, I take them to my local chemist.

I usually check on the expiry dates around the end of the year, which reminds me....

if they are good ones ill take care of them..

Take them back to the pharmacy they came from. Hopefully they can get them to the right person, who is probably wondering where their medication is.

www.ricardo.ch

Crush 'em and snort 'em?

Maybe someone was hinting to the landlady that she needs medicating??

I agree to take to the pharmacy that issued the meds. Kind of surprising it doesn't have a name on it. Anytime I've received meds here they had my name on them.

This one gets my vote - closely followed by the crush and snort 'em option.

Thanks, I take payment in the form of green blobbies and I'll be here all week. (couldn't resist)

Sorry, I should have clarified. They're not in the box, just a blister pack.

Well, no worries, any pharmacy has to and will take them back, with or without the box, regardless of expiry date and place of purchase. By the way, this also holds true for medication bought abroad.

That is weird!
I hope you landlady wasn't hinting at something!

Which anti-depressant? Some are used as a recreational drug - maybe the 'seller' got the wrong post box, or a user had to hide the stuff in a hurry???

Do you also check if the expiration date is actually meaningful for the drug in question? In many cases 'expired' meds are still perfectly good.

related question:
I know a lot of people take old medication back to the pharmacy but why? I just chuck them... is that wrong?

Because they can be used by people in other countries where they would be prohibitive to buy or not available. Throwing them away is a huge waste of resources.

Yes, it is, as they could end up in the wrong hands. Or you end up with a landlady who puts them in someone's letterbox instead of taking them to the pharmacy herself.

To the OP...you have a strange landlady.

Depending on the final means of disposal it may mean that harmful chemicals are released into the environment, possibly into the food chain. Not really a good idea, although for just a handful or a part-used strip or two it's perhaps not that bad.

But some of the stuff I've got, like multiple packs of codeine, and even morphine, I really would not want to just throw in the rubbish - who knows who or what may get hold of them?

Then again, I'm a hoarder, and a serial self-medicator, so I just regard them as my 'stock' for possible future use

Not strange, she's nice. I was the only tenant not in and I think she thought they were important. But yeah, it is a weird thing to happen. Not at home right now but will take a look tomorrow...

Please take them to the Apotheke and they will take care of them.

I had a roommate once who was a medical rep who wanted to throw anesthetic in the trash!!! (this was in North America where trash is usually buried)