A Comparison of Drug Disposal Programs and Recommendations for Arizona

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: A comparison of characteristics of current drug disposal programs was conducted to evaluate the sustainability of different programs, and hopefully give a basis for Arizona to make recommendations for starting a state wide drug disposal program. METHODS: A literature search using OVID, MEDLINE, Google, and Google Scholar was utilized to search for current medication disposal programs, and analyzed for different variables including population served, collection sites, program duration, number of participants, pounds collected, cost, and funding. RESULTS: Eighteen programs were compared in the chart. Characteristics such as collection sites, program duration, size of population served, attendance, pounds collected, cost, and funding varied widely. CONCLUSIONS: An appropriate program which is more suitable for Tucson can only be chosen after the amount of funding available is known. Until new medication disposal regulations are implemented, police stations are the best place to set up the medication disposal programs.