The 14th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day held on October 28th, 2017 has been hailed as the most successful yet, retrieving record quantities of unused medication. Run by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the events highlight the importance of proper disposal of unwanted drugs and provide an opportunity for Americans across the country to bring expired or unused prescription medication to one of 5,300 collection sites.
Record quantities of prescription medications were brought in by the public, many of whom took advantage of the opportunity to clear their medicine cabinets. More than 912,000 pounds - 456 tons - of medication was collected by the DEA during the latest Prescription Drug Take Back Day, six tons more than during the previous event held in the spring. It takes the total quantity of prescription medication retrieved since 2010 up to more than 4,508 tons.
The first prescription drug take back program was established by the DEA after the Environmental Protection Agency and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advised the public that flushing unused medicines down the toilet or throwing them in the trash are not suitable means of drug disposal, and could pose a health and safety hazard. A further benefit of proper drug disposal and take back schemes are that they offer a safe way to remove medication that may be abused or misused from circulation.
In 2014 the National Survey on Drug Use and Health 2014 revealed nearly two million Americans abused or were dependent on prescription opioids, such as oxycodone and hydrocodone. Furthermore, the number of deaths in the United States as a result of prescription opioid overdose increased fourfold between 1999 and 2015, according to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“By taking dangerous drugs off of our streets, we keep addiction from spreading. One of the most important ways we do that is through the DEA’s semi-annual Prescription Drug Take Back Days,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The recent event was the most successful to date, removing record numbers of potentially dangerous medications from circulation, he added.
FDA drug disposal guidelines recommend patients transfer unused medicine to an authorized collector for proper disposal. This can be done at one of the take back event or by locating an authorized DEA collector. Particularly dangerous should be collected through one of these channels, but if these options are unavailable they should be flushed down the toilet as soon as they are no longer needed.
Some medication may be disposed of in the household trash, but the FDA recommends following four simple steps to ensure this is done safely. Drugs should be mixed with an unpalatable substance, such as dirt or coffee grounds, then placed in a container such as a sealed plastic bag before being thrown in the trash. Finally, any personal information on the prescription label of the empty pill bottle or packaging should be scratched out and made unreadable before disposal.
The next Prescription Drug Take Back Day is scheduled for April 28th, 2018.
