DEA Drug TakeBack Day October 27th

On Saturday, October 27, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the UPhA and the U. S. Drug Enforcement Administration will give the public its 16th opportunity in eight years to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. 

Last spring Americans turned in nearly 475 tons (949,046 pounds) of prescription drugs at more than 5,800 sites operated by the DEA and almost 4,700 of its state and local law enforcement partners.  Overall, in its 15 previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners have taken in almost 10 million pounds—nearly 5,000 tons—of pills.  

This initiative addresses a vital 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 alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.  The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows year after year that the majority of misused and abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including someone else’s medication being stolen from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards. 

In January of this year, the Utah Pharmacy Association announced it had established a convenient medication takeback program for members of the association allowing for easy disposal of leftover, unused and out-of-date prescription and over-the counter medications.

Unused medications in the home are a source of drug abuse in millions of homes, with the opioid crisis in the United States fueled in part by that availability: More than 70 percent of young people abusing prescription pain relievers get them through friends or family, including raiding the family medicine cabinet. Overall, 22,000 people die each year from misuse of prescription drugs.

“We want to provide the people in the Utah community with the safe, secure opportunity to clean out their medicine cabinets and make their homes and communities safer,” said Jeff Gatzemeier, Owner of Oquirrh Mountain Pharmacy and Past President of the Utah Pharmacy Association  “We want to remind people that they should not flush drugs down the toilet. Traces of drugs can appear in community drinking water. The drug disposal units through this program, which will be easily accessible in the pharmacies of participating members, is a great answer to that problem and it’s simple to do. All they do is just come in, look for the big green receptacle and drop it in the receptacle. Drugs can be dropped off with no questions asked.”

The Utah Pharmacy Association partnered with Inmar to manage this drug takeback program. The company has a long history as the industry leader in handling prescription and over-the-counter drug returns safely, securely and discreetly for major and regional chain drug stores as well as independent pharmacies and hospitals across the U.S.

Don’t miss out on a chance to help your patients. Sign up for the Inmar TakeBack program and be a part of the next DEA Take Back Day next spring. 

For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or about the October 27 Take Back Day event, go to www.DEATakeBack.com

Inmar Program Flyer (PDF)