Has anyone looked into this? I just asked if the pharmacy could reuse my current plastic bottle and they said no. Makes sense, can’t risk contamination. I have dreams of them using the waxed paper bag that they put the bottle in instead but I’m sure that’s not possible, either.
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I haven’t heard anything about it, fwiw.
Yeah, the safety reasons make plastic a pretty decent use case here. Don’t want it to easily shatter or open (to keep kids / toddlers out), etc.
I had been thinking if they made it out of a more robust plastic actually, one that could be easily steam sanitized and reused…
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I’d be curious if anyone found a solution for this that would be acceptable to most pharmacies. I suspect the safety regulations at most pharmacies would prevent this; and for good reason as @tim noted.
I’ve been moving us to non plastic and or reusable containers wherever possible, but kinda allready have a huge cognative hole when it comes to the pharmacy. (Vegetarian, who needs meds which are only commonly only offered, wrapped in gelatin). So I hadn’t considered that angle. I’ve got a few old timey style pill cases. It would be cool to be able to drop those off to get a refill.
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Unfortunately, this is getting worse with cannabis legalization. We really messed up not putting in any provisions for this, since folks don’t like keeping cannabis on shelves, and can easily sell at discount, meaning any packaging decisions will likely be discarded as a single-use item.
Compound that with the many forms cannabis now takes, and you basically have the entirety of industrial packaging wrapping up weed that folks are not storing very long…
I’ve been surprised by some companies using tiny glass jars, but then folks use packaging as a signifier, and since no one really has a sense of value otherwise, the more expensive items tend to have better overall packaging.
Two more sore points on this:
- Nearly everything comes wrapped in a plastic sheet/ring at some point T_T
- deep breath they sell single joints in plastic tubes… I swear, those package designers have a hot seat in hell next to the industrial designers that created electric scooter batteries…
That really sucks, sorry to hear that.
I feel like pharmacies used to be perceived as these kinda weird drug dealer stores, where charm and being local went a long way, and now I talk to professionals in lab coats trying to not help meth labs (and are Walgreens).
What I’m asking is, rural-liver, is that a likely to happen where you are? Because I’m pretty sure everyone at Walgreens hates everyone, especially each other. 
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I kinda buried the lead there, the reason I posted wasn’t because I’m trying to make some leap between pharmacies and dispensaries (different creatures), or pointing to cannabis as medicine (it obviously is, you are all discerning adults).
Rather, a lot of companies are choosing to sell 1/8ths in pill bottles. So it is the exact issue Annie brings up, except with even less options; I’ve talked to a few local dispensaries about recycling programs and how they work with vendors, and of course they will! They love their community, and have no reason to not do this well, but they have zero control over what weed companies are doing.
We regulate them like we do the others, via regulations. 
Though their just copying the single cigar delivery system there, right? I’ve never smoked a cigar but I have memmories of family buying cigars in plastic tubes. ( Though I imagine joints are a hotter comodity in this day and age than cigars).
The last truly local pharmacies around here mostly dried up when I was in high school, many moons ago. Ive got strong memmories of what these pharmacies were like when I was a kid. I was in and out of the doctors office a bit back then, for complicated reasons.
There was one near my university when I was a freshmen that died very shortly after my first year of college back in the day.
Most of them got run out of town by CVSes, which eventually flipped to Wallgreens. Mostly we are left with Wallgreens and Walmarts fulfilling everyones meds these days. And yeah they hate everyone.
So yeah I can’t see these great ideas happening anytime soon.
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tangent: the first time i saw a homemade cannabis-chocolate infusion, the creator carried it around in a reused prescription bottle. it was awesome.
this sounds like a huge opportunity for a crunchy granola weed company. one of the ones with billboards everywhere talking about how eco-friendly they are.
also yes i’ve bought weed granola before. it came in … a waxed paper bag! …inside a clear plastic bag. i’m sorry lol.
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