DEA’s 15th Prescription Drug Take-Back Effort -- A Big Success In North Texas And Oklahoma
NORTH TEXAS & OKLAHOMA - The final total is in from the 15th National Prescription Take-Back Day this past Saturday, April 28, 2018. DEA and its partners, 142 participating agencies in total, took back prescription drugs at 179 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 Take Back initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. DEA launched its prescription drug take back program when both the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration advised the public that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines-flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash-posed potential safety and health hazards.
“We know as a society, we cannot enforce our way out of the raging opioid crisis. I want to thank all of you in the communities who came out and did their part helping us to collect medications which are no longer needed and taking the curiosity out of the cabinets. Doing this may have saved someone from becoming an addict,” SAC Shelley stated. “We collected 39,217 pounds at NTBI 15 on April 28th in North Texas and Oklahoma. It is an increase of over 7,500 pounds collected from NTBI 14,” said SAC Shelley.
Other participants in this initiative include in North Texas and Oklahoma local law enforcement (police and Sheriff’s offices), military bases, public school enforcement departments, tribal partner police departments, and various anti-drug community coalitions.
For more information about Prescription Drug Abuse, please visit www.dea.gov.
