DEA Announces Prescription Drug Take-Back Day to Fight U.S. Drug Abuse

In an announcement made last week by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), a first-ever nationwide public health campaign called the "Take-Back" initiative will be unveiled next month, marking the latest effort by the government agency to combat the rise in prescription drug abuse seen in recent years.

In the new campaign, the DEA and other participating organizations will sponsor a nationwide "Take-Back" day, collecting expired, unused, or unwanted prescription drugs from consumers and then destroying the medications in a "safe, legal, and environmentally sound way," according to the DEA.

The national "Take-Back" day is set for Saturday, September 25, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time. Collection site locations can be found by searching www.dea.gov.

Without proper disposal, prescription drugs left around the household pose a risk of misuse, abuse, accidental overdoses, and poisonings. According to the agency, many Americans do not know how to properly dispose of unwanted or expired medications. Throwing pills away or flushing the pills down the toilet often poses a health and safety hazard.

“This effort symbolizes DEA’s commitment to halting the disturbing rise in addiction caused by their misuse and abuse," said Michele Leonhart, acting administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration. "Working together with our state and local partners, the medical community, anti-drug coalitions, and a concerned public, we will eliminate a major source of abused prescription drugs, and reduce the hazard they pose to our families and communities."

According to a recent government study, prescription drug abuse is on the rise. The study noted a 400-percent increase in drug abuse from 1998 to 2008 for people 12 years of age and older. The non-medical use of prescription drugs is now the second-most prevalent form of illegal drug use in the U.S., according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the agency which conducted the study.

Additional information about drugs and drug side effects may be found on DrugWatch.com.