11th Drug Take-Back Announced By DEA
Event will take place throughout Arizona from 10 am-2 pm on Saturday, April 30th
PHOENIX - DEA announced today that the 11th National Prescription Drug Take-Back will take place April 30th from 10 am-2 pm local time. As with the previous 10 Take-Back events, sites will be set up throughout communities nationwide so local residents can anonymously return their unwanted, unneeded, or expired prescription drugs for safe disposal. (DEA cannot accept liquids, needles or sharps.)
Arizona’s collection sites are listed at www.dea.gov, with new locations added regularly. Currently, over 40 state, local, and tribal police departments are participating.
“Without question, prescription drug abuse is a major issue for every Arizonan as it has direct ties to our current heroin epidemic,” said DEA Phoenix Special Agent in Charge Doug Coleman. “DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back event is a way for every citizen to help prevent the onset of drug abuse from occurring within their own homes and communities.”
The National Prescription Drug Take-Back addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Many Arizonans are not aware that medicines kept in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are at alarming rates, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Many abused prescription drugs are obtained through family and friends, as well as from the home medicine cabinet. Many Americans do not know how to properly dispose of their unused medicine, often flushing them down the toilet or throwing them away - both potential safety and health hazards.
In the previous 10 Take-Back events nationwide from 2010-2015, over 5,500,000 pounds, or 2,750 tons of drugs were collected. In Arizona alone, over 90,400 pounds, or over 45 tons have been collected.
