The Brown Pharmacy now offers a prescription take back service for any community members looking to dispose of unused or expired medications.
The program was first announced in a mid-February Today@Brown message. Students and staff can either return their medication directly to a pharmacist or use a new disposal kiosk located on the lower level of Sternlicht Commons.
Previously, students relied on similar programs in place at local retail pharmacies, according to Associate Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services and Executive Director for Health and Wellness Vanessa Britto MSc'96. “We felt there was a need for a clear, recognizable and safe mechanism for Brown students to access medication disposal,” she wrote in an email to The Herald.
Britto also noted that the idea for the initiative pre-dates the pharmacy’s relocation from Andrews House, and that once the move was finalized, “it felt important to revisit the issue and explore the logistics around its implementation.”
The service seeks to prevent environmental damage while simultaneously reducing the likelihood of medication misuse, according to Britto.
Improper medication disposal “may inadvertently cause harm to others, (including) pets, or contaminate local environmental and water resources,” she wrote.
Professor of Environment, Society and Sociology Scott Frickel explained that certain medications can disrupt crucial environmental systems.
“Birth control pills that enter the environment through sewer systems can expose wildlife to estrogens that can impair endocrine systems, animal fertility and fetal development,” he wrote in an email to The Herald.
Britto added that the program “may also contribute to diminishing the growing risk of prescription drug misuse or abuse.”
Prescriptions, vitamins, ointments, patches, over-the-counter medications and even pet medications are accepted at the kiosk. The program does not accept needles, inhalers, aerosol cans, thermometers, lotions/liquids or hydrogen peroxide, according to the program’s information page.
When asked whether more kiosks would be launched in the future at other locations around campus, Britto wrote that the Brown Pharmacy is “committed to reassessing after a year or so.”
Maya Nelson is a senior staff writer covering undergraduate student life. She’s interested in studying either English or Literary Arts and loves to read sci-fi and fantasy in her free time. She also enjoys playing guitar, crocheting and spending an unreasonable amount of time on NYT Spelling Bee.
