United States Drug Enforcement Administration

SAN DIEGO and IMPERIAL, Calif. – With enthusiastic participation nationwide, DEA and its law enforcement partners have now collected nearly 12 million pounds of unused or expired prescription medications over the course of 17 successful DEA National Prescription Drug Take Back events. During the 17th semiannual event on April 27, the Take Back initiative saw new records for the numbers of law enforcement partners, collection sites. Together with these local, state, tribal and federal partners – more than 5,000 total – at nearly 6,400 collection sites, DEA collected and destroyed close to 469 tons of potentially dangerous unwanted drugs.

This brings the total amount of drugs collected by DEA since the fall of 2010 to 11,816,393 pounds, or 5,908 tons.

Over the course of four hours, San Diego County residents turned in 8,411 pounds and Imperial County residents turned in 697 pounds of prescription drugs. In addition, law enforcement agencies provided DEA with an additional 8,965.5 pounds of prescription drugs for destruction that had been collected at drop boxes and other events.

“San Diego and Imperial County residents came out in full force on Take Back Day to do their part in ending the opioid crisis,” said Special Agent in Charge Karen Flowers. “By removing unwanted prescription drugs from their homes, these residents may have saved someone from becoming addicted to a prescription medication. Thank you to all who participated in this free and anonymous event.” 

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day events have been extremely successful not only in getting unused drugs out of the house, but also in raising awareness of their link to addiction and overdose deaths. The public has embraced the opportunity these events provide to remove medicines languishing in the home that are highly susceptible to misuse, abuse and theft. Public demand for safe and secure drug disposal has also resulted in a significant increase in year-round drug drop boxes at law enforcement facilities, pharmacies, and elsewhere, making drug disposal even more convenient.

Complete results for DEA’s spring Take Back Day are available at www.DEATakeBack.com. Video of DEA’s Take Back Day collections being weighed and destroyed is available at https://youtu.be/5y_LCuJvWRs.

If you were unable to participate in this event and have prescription drugs you would like properly destroyed, you can take them to one of the many year-round drop boxes at local police stations. DEA’s next National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is Oct. 26, 2019.

Other local participants in this initiative include the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, San Diego Police Department, La Mesa Police Department, El Cajon Police Department, Chula Vista Police Department, National City Police Department, Carlsbad Police Department, Oceanside Police Department, Coronado Police Department, Escondido Police Department, SDSU Police Department, California Department of Justice, Veterans Administration Police, San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, San Diego County Probation, Prescription Drug Abuse Task Force, HIDTA, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy, San Diego Community College Police Department, San Diego County Health & Human Services, San Diego County Prevention Coalitions, Calexico Police Department, Imperial Police Department, El Centro Police Department, Brawley Police Department, Calipatria Police Department, California Highway Patrol, and Imperial County Sheriff’s Office.

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