Almost 600,000 lb. of Rx medications discarded during Nat'l Prescription Drug Take Back Day
Washington, D.C. - On October 28, 2023, between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm, people nationwide emptied their medicine cabinets to dispose of 599,897 pounds of old, unwanted, and expired medications at 4,675 collection sites nationwide to various law enforcement agencies.
Since it's inception on September 25, 2010, the DEA's National Prescription Take Back Day has removed almost 17.9 million pounds of unneeded medications from communities across the country.
According to a report published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a majority of people who use prescription medication for a nonmedical purpose obtained that medication from a family member or friend. Therefore, removing unnecessary medications from homes can help prevent people from taking someone else's prescription, sometimes for euphoric effects, and also prevent people from mistakenly taking old or expired medications or additional doses of a medication.
The DEA continues to make safe disposal of medications more accessible nationwide, with nearly 17,000 permanent drug-drop boxes located in communities across the country. Find a drug-drop location neara you at the following link: apps.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubdispsearch/spring/main;jsessionid=SSNBqe96D3Fo-lLihLuaBlwGGRZMsHTtb4UDvZkj.web1?execution=e1s1.
Complete results for the DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day are available here: www.dea.gov/takebackday.