419.7 tons of drugs collected on National Prescription Drug Take Back Day
WASHINGTON, DC – On the DEA'S 20th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on April 24, 839,543 pounds (419.7 tons) of unused, expired, and unwanted medications were collected across the country at 5,060 collection sites, with the assistance of 4,425 community partners.
“DEA’s biannual Take Back Day events are critical to helping reduce overdose deaths and alleviate addiction by safely disposing of prescription medications that sit idle in the home,” said DEA Acting Administrator D. Christopher Evans. “DEA is committed to providing a safe and secure method for the public to ride their homes of potentially dangerous drugs.”
The DEA, along with its law enforcement partners, has now collected 14,670,240 pounds of medications since the inception of the National Prescription Drug Take Back Initiative in 2010. On Oct. 24, 2020, the public turned in a record 985,392 pounds – almost 493 tons – of medication to DEA and 4,153 of its community partners at 4,587 collection sites nationwide, including 33 Bureau of Indian Affairs sites.
For those who could not make it to a Take Back location, DEA reminds the community that every day is Take Back Day with more than 11,000 year-round authorized collection sites. Find a disposal location in your area, here apps2.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubdispsearch/spring/main?execution=e1s1, or contact your local law enforcement agency for the nearest location.