The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) released a statement on Tuesday regarding its recent prescription drug take-back initiative, which, according to a report by The Associated Press, was able to gather more than 121 tons of unused medicines.
The main goal of the effort is to prevent abuse of prescription drugs by removing them from homes, and it was conducted last September 25. National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day gave Americans an opportunity to legally and safely get rid of unwanted prescription drugs, and it could be done anonymously and for free.
Michele M. Leonhart, Acting Administrator for the DEA, shared the following statement from the agency: “The Take-Back Campaign was a stunning nationwide success that cleaned out more than 121 tons of pills from America’s medicine cabinets, a crucial step toward reducing the epidemic of prescription drug abuse that is plaguing this nation.”
David Ausiello, a spokesman for the DEA, shared that over 4,000 collection sites catered to anyone who had excess prescription drugs across the country. Aside from drugs, people also brought items that they received along with their prescription, such as needles.
There are many people who have unwanted prescription drugs in their homes, and they do not know what to do with them or how to dispose of them properly. Some resort to flushing them down the toilet, a practice that can have an impact on a community’s water supply. Some even simply throw medicines out.
There is legislation that has been passed by the House and the Senate that will allow state and private entities to set up responsible drug take-back programs; for now, though, only law enforcement is legally allowed to receive unused prescriptions.
Tags: abusing prescription drugs, dangers of prescription drug abuse, prescription drugs take-back, take back prescription drugs
#1 by Angelo Valente on October 8th, 2010
Prescription drug abuse is a problem in our country. The 2007 National Study of Drug Use and Health found that 70% of people who abuse prescription pain relievers indicated they got them from friends or relatives, and the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) reports that upwards of 9 million people use prescription medication for non-medical uses.
The American Medicine Chest Challenge is a community based public health initiative, with law enforcement partnership, designed to raise awareness about the dangers of prescription drug abuse and provide a nationwide day of disposal – at a collection site or in the home – of unused, unwanted, and expired medicine that will be held on November 13, 2010 in communities across the country.