Northeast Texas hospice initiative disposes of surplus drugs

The families of patients receiving hospice services in five Northeast Texas counties now have an extra way to safely dispose of unused prescription drugs.

Cypress Basin Hospice in Mount Pleasant, Texas, has joined the Northeast Texas Coalition Against Substance Abuse in Tyler, Texas. The aim of the coalition is to prevent drug abusers from gaining access to unused prescription drugs.

The coalition will supply Cypress Basin with prescription drug disposal bags, which family members can use to safely dispose of unused medications following the death of a patient. The coalition provides services to hospices in Bowie, Cass, Franklin, Morris, and Titus counties.

Sheri Cobb, Cypress Basin’s Provider Relations Director, said that by working with the coalition, Cypress Basin can provide an effective way for the families of hospice patients to dispose of unused drugs and help to provide closure to them while curbing the distribution of drugs that could lead to addiction. She said that it was common for teenagers wanting to experiment with drugs to begin by taking them from family members.

Rebecca Smith, a coordinator with the Northeast Texas Coalition Against Substance Abuse, said that the bags can be safely disposed of in landfills because they are charcoal-based. Each bag can hold up to 12 patches, 90 pills, or 12oz (355 ml) of liquid. To dispose of medications, a person needs to place them in the bag, half fill the bag with warm water and then place it in the rubbish. The combination of charcoal and warm water makes the medications inert.