DEA National Drug Take Back Day 2020
If you don’t properly dispose of the unused or expired prescription drugs in your home, they might find a new one.
Unused or expired prescription medications are a public safety issue, leading to accidental poisoning, overdose, and abuse.
Pharmaceutical drugs can be just as dangerous as street drugs when taken without a prescription or a doctor’s supervision.
The non-medical use of prescription drugs ranks second only to marijuana as the most common form of drug abuse in America.
The majority of teenagers abusing prescription drugs get them from family and friends—and the home medicine cabinet.
Unused prescription drugs thrown in the trash can be retrieved and abused or illegally sold. Unused drugs that are flushed contaminate the water supply. Proper disposal of unused drugs saves lives and protects the environment.
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.
Visit DEATakeBack.com for a collection site near you.
Take-back programs are the best way to dispose of old drugs. But if a program is not available:
- Take the meds out of their bottles;
- Mix them with something unappealing like used kitty litter or coffee grounds;
- Seal them in a bag or disposable container, and throw that away.
For more information on prescription drug abuse, go to: