DEA and partners hold National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on October 27, 2018
DEA aims to dispose of 10 million pounds of unused pills
DALLAS - Clyde E. Shelley, Jr. the Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Division announced that the DEA Dallas Field Division is partnering with national, state, local, and tribal law enforcement officials, as well as community coalition groups, during its 16th National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. The event will be held on this Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time. This one-day event will make it convenient for the public to rid their homes of potentially dangerous prescription drugs. At the event, all residents in Texas and Oklahoma will be able to drop off their expired, unused, and unwanted pills at sites across the each state free of charge, no questions asked. By doing so, they will help prevent prescription drug abuse and theft.
The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day Initiative addresses a critical public safety and public health issue. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States continue to be alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Because the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration have advised the public that flushing their prescription drugs down the toilet or throwing them in the trash pose potential safety and health hazards, DEA launched its prescription drug take back program to encourage the safe disposal of medications.
The 15th National Prescription Take-Back Day on April 28, 2018 resulted in DEA partnering with 142 participating agencies and collecting prescription drugs at 177 locations throughout North Texas and Oklahoma. A total of 39,217 pounds of unused expired or unwanted drugs were turned in to the collection boxes in both states.
The DEA encourages parents, along with their children, to educate themselves about the dangers of legal and illegal drugs by visiting DEA’s interactive websites at www.justthinktwice.com, www.GetSmartAboutDrugs.com and www.dea.gov. Also follow DEA Dallas via Twitter at @DEADALLASDiv
