There is always somebody thinking something interesting somewhere in the world, and you can easily find it out through the internet. All you have to do is to find him or her. Take just one story from California as an example. It raises the difficult question of how you should dispose of “pills” you don’t need anymore or which have expired. Why go to so much effort when you have a dumpster just outside your door? Or, if even that is too much effort, there is always the option to flush the problem away. You could, of course, get in your car and drive down to your local pharmacy. Many offer a service to dispose of old and unwanted medications for you. But, the majority of us probably find the effort involved a deterrent.

Do you ever wonder what happens after casual disposal? Your local waste management authority comes round to collect the refuse which is then dumped. There is little or no effort to sort the waste. Most authorities simply drive to the nearest landfill site and tip each load on to the growing mound of other rubbish. This pile then rots down as rain washes through it so, sooner or later, dissolved drugs end up in the watertable and potentially get recycled into your drinking water. The medications flushed go more directly into the water supply.

So, if your local pharmacy has not registered with the DEA, their only way of disposing of your unwanted drugs is to call the cops. No wonder they looked so pleased when you asked. But San Mateo County, California has placed collection boxes inside the entrance halls of eleven police departments. Anyone can walk in and leave their unwanted medications (including Ambien but excluding all illegal substances) and walk out - no questions asked. And is this a welcome service?

But, back to Ambien. Ambien is, of course, a nonbenzodiazepine hypnotic. I am never reassured by the prefix “non”. In fact, Ambien works in exactly the same way as a conventional benzodiazepine and is probably just as addictive. For this reason, Ambien is listed by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) as a controlled substance in Schedule IV. You will be pleased and delighted to know that the US Government has your interests at heart. It always wants to protect you and the environment (”always” is probably a slight exaggeration). State and Federal regulations limit the handling and disposal of controlled substances to DEA-authorised individuals and organisations.

So there is clearly a demand for this kind of service. It is pure self-interest, of course. Who wants to get high from drinking tap water? Hmmm. Wait, that is not quite the right question. How many men want to take female hormones - I am sure breasts would be alright. And do we really want all those bacteria out there to get used to all those antibiotics in the water? If you don’t know the answers to these and other questions of social conscience (or self-interest), take an AmbienAmbien and sleep on it.