DEA Announces 10th National Prescription Drug Take-Back
Event will take place from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 12th
PHILADELPHIA - Special Agent in Charge Gary Tuggle announced that the DEA Philadelphia Division will conduct its 10th National Prescription Drug Take-Back event across Pennsylvania and Delaware on September 12th from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. As with the previous nine Take-Back events, approximately 300 collection sites will be set up across Pennsylvania and Delaware so local residents can return their unwanted, unneeded, or expired prescription drugs for safe disposal.
A list of collection sites in communities across Pennsylvania and Delaware can be found by going to www.dea.gov.
The National Prescription Drug Take-Back event addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Many Americans are not aware that medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States are at alarming rates, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that many abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, 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.
“Prescription drug abuse is a huge problem and this is a great opportunity for folks around the country to help reduce the threat,” said DEA Acting Administrator Chuck Rosenberg. "Please clean out your medicine cabinet and make your home safe from drug theft and abuse.”
Although the DEA will host its National Take-Back event in other states across the country on September 26th, the Philadelphia Division is sponsoring its event this coming Saturday in anticipation of Pope Francis’ visit to Philadelphia the weekend of September 26th.
In the previous nine Take-Back events nationwide between 2010 and 2014, 4,823,251 (2,411 tons) of prescription drugs were collected. During last year’s Take-Back event on September 27, 2014, 35,220 pounds of prescription drugs were collected across Pennsylvania and Delaware alone.
