Nevada may allow medication 'donations'

CARSON CITY, NEV. — Nevada Sen. Valerie Weiner is asking that pet owners be allowed to donate unused medications to animals in need, much like some human-health facilities do.

Certain human-health facilities are permitted under Nevada laws to return unused medications to dispensing pharmacies for reissuance to non-profit pharmacies, Wiener writes in Senate Bill 17. She proposes this practice serve as a model for veterinary medicine.

Under Senate Bill 17, pet owners would be able to return unused medications to a licensed veterinarian, who could then reissue the drug for free to animals whose owners may not be able to afford their pet's drugs.

Veterinarians who engage in the reissuing of donated medications would not be held liable for civil or criminal damages, as long as they "exercise reasonable care," says Wiener.

The bill was passed by the Senate in February and referred to the State Assembly, where it remains under consideration by the Committee on Commerce and Labor.