Overview

• The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation’s July guidance names 17 potent opioids and psychotropic drugs—including fentanyl, morphine sulfate and diazepam—for immediate household flushing if unused or expired
• Regulators warn that a single dose of these medicines can be fatal if ingested by unintended users, posing acute risks to children, pets and other household members
• All other expired or surplus medications are to be collected through state government and local chemist association ‘drug take-back’ programmes to ensure scientific disposal
• The advisory builds on the 2016 Biomedical Waste Management Rules and responds to an AIIMS study that found pharmaceutical residues in the Yamuna and Delhi groundwater linked to environmental contamination and antibiotic resistance
• State drug control departments and chemist groups are mobilizing to launch collection sites, distribute disposal pamphlets and lay the groundwork for a comprehensive national pharmaceutical waste policy