”
I need to know where to send these extra pills I have. I can’t
flush them down the toilet
– they say not to flush them down the toilet. But I need some
information as to what to do with them. I’ve got a bunch of them
and I need to get rid of them. Thank you.
”
“I need to know where to send these extra pills I have. I can’t flush them down the toilet – they say not to flush them down the toilet. But I need some information as to what to do with them. I’ve got a bunch of them and I need to get rid of them. Thank you.”
Dear Take a Chill Pill,
You’re right, dear caller, flushing your pills down the toilet, just like throwing them in the trash, is not a good idea.
“Although this was a policy used in the past, new evidence and studies show that prescription drugs are not being completely filtered out when passing through sewer treatment plants,” reads a warning on the Santa Clara County Department of Environmental Health’s Web site. “Damage to marine wildlife and plantlife is an end product of this.”
Whether disposed of by being flushed or being put in the trash, the ingredients in the pills, such as hormones from birth control pills, can end up getting into our dirt or water, and then can enter our water supplies. Recently, several environmental health agencies found this was a problem, that trace amounts of prescription drugs and hormones were present in major waterways and that they could be having an effect of local ecosystems.
So, what to do? There’s a couple choices. Santa Clara County runs a Voluntary Take Back program, which will dispose of your unwanted pharmaceuticals. The program has offices at Leiter’s Pharmacy, 1700 Park Ave., San Jose, and at the county’s Household Hazardous Waste Program, 1555 Berger Drive, San Jose. Appointments are necessary if you want to dispose of your drugs at the county office and can be made by visiting www.hhw.org or by calling 299-7300.
Or, if you’re feeling a bit more altruistic, you can join the county’s Surplus Drug Collection and Distribution Program, which collects unused medication and distributes them to people who cannot afford it.
“Rapidly increasing costs for prescription medications can make it difficult for many people to purchase the medications they need for treatment,” read a county newsletter. “In California, an estimated $10 million worth of unused medications are discarded each year.”
To participate in the Surplus Drug Program, call 885-7636. Please note, the program does not accept expired medication.
Illegal immigrants not given free pass
“With the city and state in a budget mess, it would make sense to save tax money for tax paying citizens or legal residents. Is Gilroy considered a sanctuary city for illegal immigrants? Does Gilroy police cooperate with (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and other federal agencies?”
Dear Concerned Citizen(ship),
Gilroy, being the wonderful city it is, is certainly a sanctuary to all who live here, illegal or not. That said, Red Phone knows better than to talk politics at the breakfast table. All we know is that we go to city council meetings regularly and still haven’t heard of anybody proposing the slogan: “Gilroy, a great place to hide.”
However, we do know that Gilroy police do cooperate with federal agencies, including ICE. The cooperation is built into the arrest protocol, as all people who are arrested are asked for their citizenship status, Sgt. Jim Gillio said. Yet, if a driver is pulled over, police do not check citizenship status.
“Immigration enforcement is enforced by ICE as it is a federal crime,” Gillio said. “Local agencies enforce state laws and local ordinances.”
However, “when appropriate the Gilroy Police Department cooperates with all agencies including Immigrations Customs Enforcement,” he said. “In the past when dealing with violent gang members, we have worked closely with ICE to deal with illegal immigrants.”
This includes the occasional parolee and probationer enforcement check. During these operations, former criminals are searched and questioned to make certain they are complying with the terms of their release.
