The brief story on National Prescription Take-Back Day left out a crucial piece of information.
Potential for abuse is only one reason to responsibly dispose of extra or no-longer-needed medications. Another reason, perhaps even more important, is to keep these substances out of the water supply by treating them as hazardous waste.
It should be common sense anyway, but the Environmental Protection Agency strongly recommends that people refrain from flushing drugs down the toilet or washing them down the drain. This recommendation also applies to all kinds of personal and household products, which most of us wash or flush away without even thinking.
Keeping certain drugs out of the hands of potential abusers is one thing, but keeping all these chemical substances out of the water is a much bigger concern, with tremendous cumulative effects.
Knowing when and where to drop off unwanted medications isn't enough without knowing why it's so important to make the effort.