The Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Acting Administrator, Chuck Rosenberg, recently announced that the 10th National Prescription Drug Take-Back will take place September 26, 2015 from 10am – 2pm local time in every state except Pennsylvania and Delaware, where the event will take place on September 12, 2015. As with the previous nine Take-Back events, sites will be set up throughout communities nationwide so local residents can return their unwanted, unneeded or expired prescription drugs for safe disposal.
Collection sites in every local community can be found on www.dea.gov . This site will be continuously updated with new take-back locations.
The National Prescription Drug Take-Back addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Many Americans are not aware that medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States are at alarming rates, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that many abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including 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, which are both potential safety and health hazards.
“Prescription drug abuse is a huge problem and this is a great opportunity for folks around the country to help reduce the threat,” Rosenberg said. “Please clean out your medicine cabinet and make your home safe from drug theft and abuse.”
In the previous nine Take-Back events nationwide from 2010-2014, 4,823,251 pounds, or 2,411 tons of drugs were collected.
For more information about this event or alternative methods for disposing prescription drug, please don’t hesitate to contact us.