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home / 世界杯决赛2022

province encouraging sask. residents to turn in unused prescription drugs

pharmacies across saskatchewan already accept unused prescription drugs for disposal, but now, the province is promoting that this service exists

by alec salloum

sep 28 2022
read time 2 minute read
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turn in your unused prescription pills to your nearest pharmacy. the province wants to cut down on access to potentially harmful medications in saskatchewan as part of its plan to reduce suicide deaths. mitchell wessels / istock / getty images
do not flush your expired pills down the toilet or toss them in the trash — instead bring them to a pharmacy for safe disposal.

that’s the message from the government of saskatchewan and the pharmacy association of saskatchewan as a campaign launched wednesday morning encouraging people to turn in unused or expired medication to local pharmacies.

michael fougere, former regina mayor and current ceo of the pharmacy association of saskatchewan, said province-wide programs exist for pharmacies to safely dispose of unused prescription drugs, but this campaign is a way to “up the ante.”
for the record, fougere said that when it comes to disposing of unused pills “throwing them in the garbage or flushing down the toilet is an environmental problem.”
according to fougere, there are 424 pharmacies in 125 communities across saskatchewan, so these are among “the most accessible health care providers in saskatchewan,” he said.
“it just makes sense that pharmacies accept medications from the residents for safe and secure disposal.”
what’s more, most if not all prescription drugs are dangerous if incorrectly used either by the person they are intended for, or if ingested by someone else.
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fougere said right now the province has baseline numbers on how common it is for people to return unused or expired medication but did not have that figure available during the press conference. he said the hope is to see a five per cent increase in the usage of the existing programs.

everett hindley , minister of mental health and addictions, said this program is part of the government’s pillars of life plan, focused on reducing suicides in saskatchewan.

“the goal of this initiative is to remove medication as a potential means of intentional or accidental drug poisoning,” said hindley.
the program will be free for people looking to dispose of old medication while the program will cost the province a total of $350,000.
“removing unused or expired medication helps to create a safer home environment for loved ones who may be struggling with suicidal thoughts and other mental health challenges,” said hindley. he added that these programs already exist in other provinces and this campaign is a way to make it more accessible in saskatchewan.
the money will predominantly go towards billboards and advertisements encouraging people to bring unused drugs to pharmacies. a portion will also go to pharmacies which are collecting the drugs.
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to dispose of unwanted medication peel the label off the pill bottle, place it in a plastic bag and then bring it to a pharmacy for disposal.
the drugs will be incinerated, according to beth scott, pharmacy manager at save-on-foods in south regina.
“it’s something that we’ve certainly done for a long time,” said scott. “this campaign really elevates the existing program so that people know how to bring their stuff back.”
alsalloum@postmedia.com
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alec salloum
alec salloum

alec salloum is a reporter with the regina leader-post. born and raised in regina, he delivered the newspaper as a child before interning at the post as a university student. he holds a degree from the university of regina and has previously worked as a freelance videographer and as a reporter and producer at cbc saskatchewan. salloum currently works the provincial affairs beat, covering the happenings at the legislative building and all things politics. he is part of the newsroom team that won a national newspaper award in 2023 for breaking news coverage.

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