Philadelphia city council's public health committee held hearings today on a proposal to set up an ongoing program to get rid of old and unwanted medications.
Council heard from Bernie Strain, whose teenaged son died after taking too many painkillers - prescription ones, plus old ones he got someone else. He was taking painkillers after suffering a serious burn on his hand.
Strain believes his son would be alive if access to drugs weren't so easy.
Law enforcement officials, however, urged the city to hold off on any new law - that the federal Drug Enforcement Administration is developing the country's first-ever nationwide drug disposal standards.
A recent "drug take back" campaign in South Jersey netted hundreds of pounds of unwanted medications.
