Chuck Rosenberg, acting head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, told Congress earlier this week that four out of five heroin users started on pills, and many people who use or abuse opioid pain pills get them from a friend or relative’s medicine cabinet, . “And that’s why we have re-instituted our national take-back program.”

Rosenberg noted that the most recent take-back day, in September 2015, was a big success, as measured in pounds: “I’ll break it down a little bit, if I may. But in September of last year, we took in 749,000 pounds of unwanted and expired drugs. By some estimates, only 10 percent or so are opioids, but even if that’s true, even if it’s quote-unquote ‘only 10 percent,’ that’s still about 74,000 pounds of opioids.

“So we think we’re making a difference. We’re going to continue these programs. Our next take-back will be April 30th of this year, so not that far away, about five weeks. And if it’s like our last take-back program, it will be in 5,000 communities around the country.” The other take-back day this year “will likely be in October,” he said, “and I’m hoping we build on the success.”

Rosenberg said the United States has five percent of the world’s population, but consumes 99 percent of the world’s hydrocodone. “And so I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that the connection between pills and heroin is as strong as it is.”

He said the DEA is approaching the opioid problem with a “360-degree” strategy, including keeping pain pills in the legitimate stream of commerce, attacking the supply side, and trying to reduce demand through education and treatment and prevention. “If we don’t start knocking down the demand side, we can’t possibly win against the supply side,” Rosenberg said. The 360 program is now being tested in four cities — Pittsburgh, St. Louis, West Memphis (Ark.) and Milwaukee.

“We looked at cities generally that had an uptick in crime, cities…that were large cities but not enormous cities and cities where we thought we could make an immediate difference. We’re looking now at another round of cities, and we’re trying to approach this sort of driven as much by statistics as we possibly can. Where do they need us, where has a problem gotten worse and where can we make a difference.

The FDA supports the responsible disposal of medicines from the home. Almost all medicines can be safely disposed of by using medicine take-back programs or using U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)-authorized collectors. DEA-authorized collectors safely and securely collect and dispose of pharmaceutical controlled substances and other prescription drugs. Authorized collection sites may be retail pharmacies, hospital or clinic pharmacies, and law enforcement locations. Some pharmacies may also offer mail-back envelopes to assist consumers in safely disposing of their unused medicines through the U.S. Mail.

Consumers can visit the DEA’s website for more information about drug disposal and to locate an authorized collector in their area. Consumers may also call the DEA Office of Diversion Control’s Registration Call Center at 1-800-882-9539 to find an authorized collector in their community. Local law enforcement agencies may also sponsor medicine take-back programs in your community. Contact your city or county government for more information on local drug take-back programs.