The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications.

This year the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day will be Saturday, April 27, 2019 from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.  The DEA has an online site locator which quickly identifies a disposal site near your location.

The last Take-Back Day brought in more than 900,000 pounds of unused or expired prescription medication. This brings the total amount of prescription drugs collected by DEA since the fall of 2010 to 10,878,950 pounds.

Too often, unused prescription drugs find their way into the wrong hands. That’s dangerous and often tragic. That’s why it was great to see thousands of folks from across the country clean out their medicine cabinets and turn in – safely and anonymously – a record amount of prescription drugs.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) hosts a no-questions asked National Prescription Drug Take-Back event twice per year where temporary collection sites are set up in local cities throughout the nation for safe disposal of prescription drugs, including opioids.

DEA began hosting National Prescription Drug Take-Back events in 2010. At the last Take-Back Day in October 2018 over 5,800 sites across the nation collected unwanted or expired medications totaling 914,236 pounds (457.12 tons). The total amount of prescription drugs collected by DEA since the fall of 2010 is 10,878,950 pounds (5,439.5 tons).

Keep in mind that these items generally are not accepted at the drop box. Check with the collector ahead of time to determine what items are specifically not accepted.

–  Needles or other sharps
–  Asthma inhalers
–  Mercury thermometers
–  Iodine-containing medications
–  Illicit drugs or substances (including marijuana which is still a schedule 1 drug under federal law), and any prescription medications obtained illegally.

Opioid abuse is at epidemic levels in the U.S., and remains a top public health concern. Consumers should dispose of expired, unwanted, or unused medicines as quickly as possible to help reduce accidental or intentional overdoses or illegal abuse. The DEA’s “Take-Back” initiative is one of several strategies to reduce prescription drug abuse and diversion in the nation.