The FDA’s Troubling Plans To Dispose Opioids Via The U.S. Mail

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is set to launch a program in 2024 that will put hundreds of millions of opioid pills in the U.S. mail as consumers mail unused narcotics back to drug companies for destruction.

At best, this will be an expensive, inefficient way to dispose of these highly addictive substances. It is quite likely a significant amount of opioids will be stolen and sold illegally, resulting in many increased addictions and deaths.

At a minimum, the mail-back program should be halted for comprehensive re-evaluation. Simultaneously, increased emphasis should be placed on easy, low-cost, and proven ways to dispose of unused opioids, which get rid of them more expeditiously than putting them in the mail.