Police stations and government offices across the country will collect unwanted prescription drugs for free from the public this Saturday, April 30, for National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. Photo: C. Todd Lopez, U.S. Army
On April 30, more than 5,300 police stations and other government offices across the country will collect expired or unwanted prescription drugs from the public at no cost.
Coordinated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the second National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day aims to prevent prescription drug abuse and theft. National rates of prescriptions drug abuse are alarmingly high, says the DEA, and many individuals abusing these drugs obtain them from friends and family, including from the home medicine cabinet.
The free Drug Take-Back Day also benefits the environment, by providing a proper disposal option for prescription drugs. Drugs flushed down the toilet can contaminate water sources, and drugs thrown in the trash have the potential to leach out the landfill and pollute soil and groundwater.
To find a local collection event, visit www.dea.gov and click on the “Got Drugs?” banner at the top of the home page. Events will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time.
The DEA’s first take-back day, held last September, collected over 120 tons of prescription drugs at 4,000 locations.
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