Wal-Mart offers customers a way to safely dispose of medication at home
New York — Wal-Mart, seeking to curb opioid abuse, will offer its pharmacy customers a product that dissolves unwanted or expired prescription drugs. Customers filling a new class II opioid prescription at any of Wal-Mart’s 4,700 US pharmacies will now receive a packet of DisposeRx, a powder that — when mixed into a pill bottle with warm water — creates a safe, biodegradable gel, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. Those with refillable opioid prescriptions will get a free sachet every six months, and customers can request a free packet at any time. The move comes as the US grapples with the scourge of opioid addiction, an affliction that often begins when chronic-pain sufferers fill a prescription at a retail pharmacy chain such as Wal-Mart, CVS or Walgreens. More than two out of three people misusing prescription opioids get them from family and friends, according to federal data. Opioid overdose deaths rose 28% in 2016, to 42,000 men, women and children. Wal-Mart touted...
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