Illicit Drug or Medication Disposal

Goal-why is this important to us?

Dawn Farm strives to ensure that all illicit drugs, alcohol, and controlled medications are disposed of in a safe & easy way.

Ingredients-what do I need to get started

• Med disposal log and dry erase marker

• Gloves / Medication disposal pouch/Warm Water

• Any controlled substances and any medications that clients are not allowed to take that need to be disposed of (This includes Phenobarbital, Gabapentin, opioids, benzos, etc.)

• REMEMBER- 2 staff must be present during all medication and illicit drug disposals

Timeframe-how long will this take?

Approximately 4-5 minutes

Contacts-who do I need to let know?

Document in medication disposal log and complete Incident Report.

Steps-what do I do?

For medication and illicit drugs:

1. Make sure there are 2 staff present during all medication and illicit drug disposals.

2. Make sure you have disposable gloves on

3. Take the pouch out of the locked med cabinet & put it on a flat surface

4. Tear open the pouch and put the loose meds inside

5. Seal pouch, gently shake, and dispose of only if at capacity. Normal trash is fine.

6. If not at capacity, seal bag & log how many items you’ve put in it. Log sheet is attached to the pouch.

7. Document disposal in Medication Disposal log

For alcohol:

1. Make sure there are 2 staff present for disposal

2. Pour alcohol down the drain or toilet and rinse out bottle

3. Dispose of bottle in garbage can that is not readily accessible to clients- staff office or kitchen, take directly outside, etc.

Follow up-what loose ends do I need to wrap up?

When you have only one loose med pouch left contact the Project Manager for refills.

Remember to create an Incident Report as well.

Important to know

Any controlled substances and any medications that clients are not allowed to take while in treatment should be disposed of using this procedure

• • This includes Phenobarbital, Gabapentin, opioids, benzos, etc.

All non-hazardous Pills, Capsules, Tablets, Liquids, Lozenges, Transdermal Patches, Fentanyl Lollipops, & Suppositories are acceptable for disposal!

Do not add gassing items such as effervescent, antacid medications, syringes (hardware) or drugs known to react with one another such as sodium bicarbonate and aspirin.

Deterra will deactivate any organic medications including opioids. However, it will not adsorb any metals such as Iron or lithium contained in a small number of medications. If your medication has specific disposal instructions, please follow the directions as given.