DEA PREPARES FOR PRESCRIPTION DRUG TAKEBACK DAY

Matt Boster

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Posted by: Matt Boster
Date: Oct 25 2017 2:27 PM

Montgomery, Alabama – U.S. Attorney Louis V. Franklin, Sr., joins the DEA in announcing its 14th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on October 28th. The biannual event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at thousands of collection sites around the country, including many here in the Middle District of Alabama. The event is an effort to rid homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs.

 

“Opioid abuse is a leading cause of death in this country,” stated U.S. Attorney Franklin.  “This drug Take Back day allows us to rid our medicine cabinets of these potentially lethal drugs.  By turning in these potentially lethal drugs to a Take Back location you make your home a safer place for your family and friends.”  

 

“Last April Alabamians turned in more 6,200 pounds of prescription drugs at more than 70 sites operated by the DEA, and our state and local law enforcement partners,” stated Bret Hamilton, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of DEA.  “We hope that this Take Back will be just as successful and will help rid our community of these deadly drugs.” 

 

Last April Americans turned in 450 tons (900,000 pounds) of prescription drugs at almost 5,500 sites operated by the DEA and more than 4,200 of its state and local law enforcement partners. Overall, in its 13 previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners have taken in over 8.1 million pounds—more than 4,050 tons—of pills. The disposal service is free and anonymous, no questions asked. (The DEA cannot accept liquids, needles, or sharps, only pills or patches.)

Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 91 Americans die each day from an opioid overdose. Some painkiller abusers move on to heroin: Four out of five new heroin users started with painkillers.

 

Flushing medications down the toilet or throwing them in the trash pose potential safety and health hazards. This initiative addresses the public safety and public health issues that surround medications languishing in home cabinets, becoming highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse.

For more information or to locate a collection site near you, go the DEA Prescription Drug Take Back Day web site at https://takebackday.dea.gov/#collection-locator  where you can search by zip code, city, or state.

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