When many women who take one of the birth control pills decide to come off the contraceptive, they find themselves with excess pill packs. Can they donate these pills to organizations that can make use of the pills?
Birth control pills, like any other medication, should not be flushed down the toilet, since the drugs can cause problems in the local groundwater. Nor should they simply be thrown into the trash. Ideally, if donation is not an option, one should return them to the pharmacy and allow them to destroy them properly.
Furthermore, birth control pills shouldn't be 'donated' to friends. Each person on birth control pills should have their own prescription. While it may seem harmless to pass along such pills to friends, you can't possibly know whether your friend or friends have some acknowledged or unacknowledged health problem that would make taking the pill a life-threatening issue.
Although unorthodox, some sites suggest trying to reach local women's shelters and see if they are willing to accept unopened birth control pill donations. Some may accept them with proper documentation, some may not. If not, they may be able to direct you to other options.
Another option is to contact the Department of Health in your state and inquire about so-called prescription drug repositories, which function to receive unused and unopened prescription medications and distribute them to people who can not afford them.
Documentation-- namely, proof that the medication is yours-- is required.
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