DEA Announces 15th National Drug Take Back
Event will take place throughout Arizona from 10 am-2 pm on Saturday, April 28th
PHOENIX - DEA announced the 15th National Prescription Drug Take-Back will take place April 28th from 10 am-2 pm local time. 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 https://takebackday.dea.gov/, with new locations added regularly. Currently, over 56 state, local, and tribal police departments are providing 79 collection points statewide, an increase over the previous year. Nationally, nearly 5,000 sites across the country will be collecting unused medications.
“Every citizen in Arizona can prevent the potential onset of addiction from within their own homes and significantly reduce the supply of excess prescription drugs diverted to the illicit drug market by participating in DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back,” said Doug Coleman, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA in Arizona. “The DEA will continue to work with communities to combat the opioid epidemic and target the cartels profiting from the weakness of others, but we must begin with reducing the supply of excess prescription drugs.”
The National Prescription Drug Take-Back addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarming, 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. Some 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 14 Take-Back events in Arizona, over 132,811 pounds, or approximately 66 tons have been collected.
