Drug users going through our trash for empty prescription bottles, then using the info to obtain our legitimate medications.

I've never heard of donating them to an animal shelter. What do they use them for?

Good idea to use a permanent marker to black it out.

Especially when they can call your drugstore, pretend to be you and obtain them using your insurance or credit card info that is on hand -- and then you can't get it for yourself because the insurance company or the pharmacy says it's too soon since your last refill.

For some people, this is a matter of life and death. Very scary.

Exactly. The same here and mine are the type that would be prized by drug addicts because of my back injury. Another person in the house would literally die without asthma meds -- which are also prized because they can make a person high.

Too many of us aren't thinking about our prescription bottles. My question is how do we dispose of them safely? I could drive to the Santa Clarita police department, but does that service exist in other areas? If not, then how do you get the label off the bottle? What do you do if you can't?

I wonder if there is a recommended protocol.

Just did a quick search. This article brings up identity theft from prescription bottles. It goes on to say:

Take a close look at your prescription bottle. It has your name, address, physician, drug name, dosing directions, number of pills, and the number of refills available--information you certainly don't want to fall into the wrong hands.

Before tossing the bottle use a permanent marker to black out all information on the bottle, especially your name, address, and name of medication.

After blacking out information on the bottles wrap them in newspaper or grocery bags so they aren't visible in the garbage bag. More people "see" your trash than you may think. A bag with several bottles visible says to the abuser, "Lots of bottles, likely to be some with street value."

Read more: How to Properly Dispose of Prescription Bottles | eHow.com

I'm careful what goes into the trash that has my info on it. Use a shredder. But I too never thought about them being able to get drugs from prescription bottles.

I also have to use a hand delivered triple script to get some meds because of my back., so that part of the article bothered me a little. However, it could be the author messed up the notes and got the med wrong. Without triple script, that could be done.

As to you feeling like the trash man might think you are a junkie, guess he could, but what's he doing going through the trash? What's he looking for? LOL

I don't always throw my script bottles out. They're useful around the house. Use them to hold small things, like screws, etc. Also they can be made into artistic stamps with a flat sheet of art foam. For instance, the foam could be cut into a butterfly shape, glued onto the top or bottom of the container and then the container itself becomes an easy to hold handle. All you need is an ink pad and you have a stamp to decorate envelopes, scrap books, etc. Kids love them and I don't have to worry about them messing up or losing an expensive stamp. Or me either, for that matter.

It would bother me too if my parents went through my trash. They never did that but they were products of the depression era and valued stuff long after they quit using it. You never know, you might need it again someday.

They weren't hoarders though. They never filled their houses to the rafters with useless junk.

I am grateful to live in an age when meds can enhance my life. My back was injured forty years ago. There wasn't much help then. I went on with my life with a simple determination to endure and enjoy my life despite the pain. Now I can get relief and enjoy life even more.

I love being active and was afraid I would not be able to as I aged. For a while, it seemed as if my fears were coming true, but then I got a new doctor and life is good again.

I don't know your condition, but I hope you can find a way to enjoy life too. It is a misery to be locked inside a body that just can't do what we want it to do.