Nearly
800,000 pounds of unneeded prescription medications were properly disposed of
during the April 26, 2014, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) National
Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, the largest amount of drugs collected since
the first DEA Take-Back Day event in September 2010. DEA and its law
enforcement partners set up more than 6,000 collection sites across all 50
states, the District of Columbia, and United States territories, DEA reports
. To date, 4.1 million pounds of prescription medications have been turned in to officials at these events, helping to prevent diversion, misuse, and abuse of the drugs. NABP’s AWARXE
® Prescription Drug Safety Program encourages consumer participation in DEA Take-Back Day events and provides information about the importance of
safe drug disposal
in helping to curb prescription drug abuse rates. Consumers who were unable to participate in the DEA Take-Back Day can check the Get Local
section of the AWARXE website for state-specific listings of prescription medication drop box locations. Note that some community drop box programs are unable to accept controlled substance medications for disposal.
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