Is it against the law to give away extra medicine?

Long story short, my Dr. put me on Humira. It cost a ton of money, I'm about $12,000 into it and now my Dr. said the latest tests show it isn't working. That being said I have 3 pens of Humira left in my fridge and I hate to throw it away. I keep thinking maybe it is very expensive to someone who is struggling to pay for it and I could give it away to them. I'd have to ship it overnight and put some ice packs in with it but is this against the law?

Dr. said he is going to switch me to Cimzia(think that's how you spell it) now and try that. Insurance company said the first month will be almost $4,000. Just darn, I don't see how most people even afford this stuff to be honest. I almost feel it's a crime for drug companies to charge that much or for the government not to help some people that really need it.

Anyway, just want to know can I go to jail if I mail this excess medicine to someone that could use it? I'm more scared of the postal service or fedex checking my package than I am of someone ratting me out.

notsosicklygirl said...
You can not give it away here. it's against the terms of the site, but it's also not legal & you're not a doctor/pharmacy so obviously it's not your place to prescribe drugs & you have no guarantee the person you would be giving it to has a valid script... my GIs office took some of my sealed pens and gave them as samples. Ask your doctor's office if they can use them for patients.

Otherwise I'd do it on ebay, or anywhere but here, and hope not to get caught.

Thank you for the quick response notsosicklygirl. The Dr. told me to just throw them away so now knowing it it not legal I will do so. You made a great point in that I don't know if the person I'd be giving it to would have a valid script and I never thought about what would happen if they took this and had a bad reaction.

I see your a MOD, can you just delete this or lock it thanks.

It is a shame to throw it out. I wonder if you can look into any organizations in your area that will take it in since it's in closed packaging? it's really unfair that there are people who desperately need this medication, not just for UC but for other AI illnesses too, and can't afford it, and then people like us who have medications and can't use it or don't need it, and we can't get it to the people who need it. I totally understand wanting to donate it. I hope you can find a way.

www.ncsl.org/research/health/state-prescription-drug-return-reuse-and-recycling.aspx

Sadly, on all of the medication I've taken it says right on the box that the transfer of the medication to any other person versus who's listed on the prescription is illegal.

My doctors have given me SO MUCH medication that I can't/don't use. I have loads of EpiPens and Gabapentin and Protonix and all sorts of crap that I know people out there need and are struggling financially to get (especially with EpiPens). Makes me sad. I wish there were a proper way for them to be recycled and put back into circulation, but there really isn't.

Others have pretty accurately described the legality, or in this case lack-there-of, in transferring prescription medications between people. Only doctors and pharmacists can legally transfer meds between people.

All you can do is ask at your gasteroenteroligist office or at the hospital. Worth a call to see if they would accept it and be able to give it as a sample to others.

I think UC meds are generally okay-ish to throw in the trash (worse things out there). But certainly most municipalities have used medication drop offs where they ensure the meds are disposed of correctly and do not hurt the environment.