Saturday Is National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA’s) second National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is this Saturday, 30 April. More than 5,100 sites nationwide have joined the effort that is designed to prevent pill abuse and theft. The free event will be held from 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM. These sites include 68 in Connecticut, 156 in Maine, 173 in Massachusetts, 85 in New Hampshire, 30 in Rhode Island, and 62 in Vermont.

Public health, law enforcement, and other government and community representatives will be working at these sites to collect expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs that are potentially dangerous if left in the family’s medicine cabinet.

Last September, Americans turned in over 242,000 pounds (121 tons) of prescription drugs at nearly 4,100 sites throughout the U.S. Also last fall, Congress passed the Safe and Secure Drug Disposal Act of 2010, which amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow users of controlled substance medications to dispose of them by delivering them to entities authorized by the Attorney General to accept them. The act also allows the Attorney General to authorize long term care facilities to dispose of their residents’ controlled substances in certain instances. DEA is presently drafting regulations to implement the act.

Collection sites in local communities may be found by going to http://www.dea.gov/ and clicking on the “Got Drugs?” banner at the top of the home page. This link connects to a database that citizens can search by zip code, city, or county. This site is continuously being updated with new take-back locations. In addition, there is a public service announcement about the initiative at http://www.nationaltakebackday.com/ (click on the “Partnership Toolbox).

This initiative is designed to address a public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are high - more Americans currently abuse prescription drugs than the number of those using cocaine, hallucinogens, and heroin combined, according to the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Studies show that individuals that abuse prescription drugs often obtained them from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, many Americans do not know how to properly dispose of their unused medicine, often flushing them down the toilet or throwing them away – both potential safety and health hazards.