WTVD: Prescription for Wasting Taxpayer Dollars?
North Carolina corrections department dumps unused medication in landfills.
RALEIGH-DURHAM, NC— -- The North Carolina Department of Correction is dumping unused prescription drugs, paid for with taxpayer dollars, into a local landfill, reveals an investigation by ABC News affiliate WTVD.
Inmates across North Carolina are prescribed $21 million dollars worth of drugs and medication each year. WTVD, following an anonymous tip, obtained records from the Wake County landfill revealing that .92 net tons or 1840 pounds of drugs and medications have been dumped by the department's central pharmacy since February.
In an interview with WTVD, DOC pharmacy director Janet Brown said that her department has many systems in place to ensure the public's tax dollars are well spent. While she admitted that some medications are sent to the landfill, she said that it is only a small percentage, though she added that they are not tracking the amount.
(Click here to watch WTVD's report)
