National Drug Take Back Day April 28, 2018
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) along with office of Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine are urging residents to safely dispose of any unneeded prescription drugs during the DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, which will take place across the country on Saturday, April 28, 2018.
DEA Drug Take Back Day
Ohioans can dispose of any unwanted, unneeded, or expired prescription medications at locations across the state on Saturday, April 28, 2018, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Initiative provides a safe, convenient, and responsible means of prescription drug disposal.
A list of collection sites in Ohio can be found on the DEA’s website. The service is free and anonymous. There is a receptical year round for disposing of prescription drugs at the Meigs County Sheriff’s Office.
“Please take advantage of this opportunity to safely dispose of your medications and ensure that they will never be accidentally ingested, stolen, misused, or abused,” said Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine. “Prescription drug abuse can have deadly consequences, and sometimes all it takes is one pill. By properly disposing of your old medications, you can help in the battle against opioid addiction.”
“As we set to embark on the 15th National Take Back Day, we must remind ourselves that the drugs destroying hundreds of families everyday don’t necessarily come from a street-corner dealer. Diverted pharmaceuticals are killing men, women and children in epidemic proportions,” said DEA Columbus District Office Assistant Special Agent in Charge Mauricio Jimenez. “Participating in National Take Back Day gives all of us the power to combat the national epidemic by routinely taking inventory of the medicines we don’t need or have expired, and disposing them in a safe and proper manner. In my opinion, National Take Back Day gives us all an opportunity to be part of a solution, so please participate.”
According to the DEA, the majority of teenagers abusing prescription drugs get them from family, friends, and the home medicine cabinet. Unused prescription drugs that are thrown in the trash can be retrieved and abused or illegally sold. Unused drugs that are flushed down the toilet can contaminate the water supply.
The DEA reports that previous Prescription Drug Take Back Day events have removed more than nine million pounds of pharmaceuticals from circulation nationwide since 2010.
Only pills and other solid prescriptions, such as patches, can be disposed of at a collection site. Liquids and needles will not be accepted.
