National Drug Take Back Day Offers Safe Collection of Unused Medications

National Drug Take Back Day, which promotes the safe return and disposal of unused prescription drugs will take place on October 24, starting at 10 am.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), in 2018, 9.9 million Americans misused controlled prescription drugs. The majority of those who misbused medications obtained them from family and friends. These misused medications are often stolen directly from the family member’s medical cabinet.

National Drug Take Back Day offers individuals a safe and anonymous way to turn in prescription drugs. The 18^th National Take Back Day in October 2019 had 6174 collection sites that amassed 441.5 tons of medications. Since the fall of 2010, the DEA has collected almost 12.7 million pounds of medication.

“Please, get rid of the unused or expired prescriptions in your medicine cabinet. They could end up lost, stolen, or simply misused. Protect your family and our communities and let's all keep prescription drugs out of the wrong hands. Keep them safe. Clean them out. Take them back,” said Miss America 2020 Camille Schrier, a pharmacy student, and National Take Back Day spokesperson .

Collection sites near you can be found by visiting the DEA’s National Drug Take Back Day website.

REFERENCE

DEA. Take Back Day. https://takebackday.dea.gov. Accessed October 22, 2020.