The United States Drug Enforcement Administration announced a nationwide campaign called the "Take-Back" initiative. The effort is the newest weapon in the DEA’s arsenal to fight the disturbing spike in prescription drug abuse.
The DEA and other participating organizations will sponsor a day, on Saturday, September 25, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The campaign will collect expired, unused, or unwanted prescription drugs and then destroy them in a safe, legal and environmentally responsible way. For more information and collection site locations, go to www.dea.gov.
"This effort symbolized 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."
Many cities and local communities have already sponsored similar initiatives, where citizens can bring their unused or expired prescription medications to a collection site for a safe disposal. It is the hope that such initiatives will help to reduce the amount of prescription drugs in circulation and reduce the chances of abuse.
A recent study found that there was a 400 percent increase in drug abuse from 1998 to 2008. The non-medical use of prescription drugs is now the second-most prevalent kind of illegal drug use in the country.
Without proper disposal, prescription drugs in the house pose a risk of misuse, abuse, accidental overdoses, and poisonings. According to the DEA, many Americans do not know how to properly get rid of unwanted or expired medications. Throwing pills away or flushing the pills down the toilet can create and health and safety hazard.
