Some states are taking steps to make the medical industry discard pharmaceutical waste more safely. Among them:

_Minnesota encourages incineration of an expanded list of drugs.

_Washington state lists almost all pharmaceuticals as dangerous waste to give its regulators more power to force safer disposal.

_North Carolina makes nursing home pharmacies take back unused controlled drugs and sends inspectors to verify their destruction in incinerators.

_Louisiana lets nursing homes donate millions of dollars worth of unused drugs each year to charity.