Wasted prescription drugs

I was disappointed at the usual problematisation of patients as feckless consumers who choose not to take their drugs, apparently on a whim, in a discussion of "discarded" medication ( Up in smoke, £150m of medicines a year , 4 July). Many of us have frequently been prescribed inappropriate medicine, or incorrect dosages, the rectification of which leaves us with at least three weeks' worth of usable but non-returnable items which are wasted. Deaths of family members have also left us with sometimes large quantities of several expensive drugs, including morphine. On one occasion I was able to recycle these by returning them, on request, to the hospital pharmacy where they were issued. Is it so hard to solve issues of possible tampering and use-by dates so that these surpluses can be recycled in a consistent manner? I asked my GP surgery to register with Intercare.org.uk , which collects unwanted medication to use in developing countries, but the response was negative. Helen Pearce London