Pharmaceutical drug take back programs in the United States are rare. Although awareness and understanding of the issue is low, the problems resulting from leftover, unused medications are real. In 2013, overdoses from prescription pain medications killed more than 16,000 Americans. The lack of free, convenient programs for proper disposal of prescription drugs and accessories such as needles and syringes, contributes to water pollution, illicit drug use, drug addiction, threats to sanitation workers, accidental poisoning of children and pets, and seniors taking the wrong medicine. 
An Associated Press investigation found antibiotics, mood stabilizers and sex hormones in the drinking water supplies serving 41 million Americans because many consumers often flush old drugs down the toilet. Water treatment plants are not equipped to remove such medicines. The Drug Enforcement Administration has partnered with state and local law enforcement agencies to hold periodic National Take Back Days for medicines, and collected more than 5 million pounds of medications with just 10 events. Clearly there is a need for convenient and ongoing collection services. Friends Fiduciary believes companies that put medicines on the market and profit from them should be primarily responsible for take back. So FFC, with other investors, signed letters to ten of the largest pharmaceutical companies requesting they provide a policy statement on pharmaceutical industry responsibility for take back of unused and expired prescription drugs. Friends Fiduciary hopes this request will lead the Pharmaceutical industry to finance, create and maintain a national prescription drug take back program similar to those found in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Hungary, Mexico, Portugal and Spain. The program in France collected 30 million pounds of drugs in 2013. At FFC, we believe it’s time for the industry to manage the end product life cycle of these drugs in the same manner that it manages design and marketing of its goods and services. Click here for template letter
