Feds: Mix Leftover Medicine With Kitty Litter

November 6, 2007 5:56 a.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Federal agents are urging citizens to dispose of their unused medicine by mixing it with kitty litter.

The purpose of this practice is to control substance abuse by making the medicine unappealing to those who would usually retrieve them and take them for non-medical reasons.

USA Today reveals that the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration issued a press release supporting this campaign.

The address urged consumers to examine the medicine packaging for any directions regarding the proper disposal of the product.

"If no specific information is provided then unused medication should be properly disposed of by mixing it with undesirable substances (e.g., old coffee grounds, used kitty litter), sealing the mixture in a container and placing it in the trash," quoted USA Today.

Flyers urging consumers to dispose of their medicine with the suggested mixtures are also being handed out by 6,300 pharmacies around the country, as reported by MSNBC.

The suggested practice is also intended to address environmental concerns, as it was reported that the disposal of medicine is becoming a growing issue. The old practice of flushing the medicine has been frowned upon, as the contents of the drugs are being known to be altering the safety level of the environment of wherever they end up after being flushed.

MSNBC added that studies have already found connections between fish abnormalities to their exposure to hormones, probably from flushed medicine.