ST. LOUIS — The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is hosting its 24th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day this weekend.
The bi-annual event runs from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, April 22. It's a chance to safely get rid of old, unwanted or no longer needed medication that the DEA said too often becomes a gateway to addiction.
There are more than 4,000 drop-off locations nationwide, including more than 230 police departments with the DEA St. Louis Division hosting collection sites.
The event allows people to safely dispose of unwanted medication, no questions asked. The DEA said medications left out can become a gateway to prescription drug abuse.
The DEA and law enforcement partners will accept tablets, capsules, patches and other solid forms of prescription drugs, as well as vaping devices and cartridges with the lithium batteries removed. They won't accept liquids (including intravenous solutions), syringes and other sharps, and illicit drugs.
“Disposing of unneeded medications can help prevent drugs from being misused,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram in a press release for the event last year. “Overdose deaths continue to hit tragic record highs. I encourage everyone to dispose of unneeded prescription medications now.”
The DEA St. Louis Division, which includes Missouri, Kansas and southern Illinois, collected a total of 37,000 pounds on the most recent Oct. 23, 2022, takeback event.
According to data referenced by the DEA in the release, overdose deaths are up 16% over last year, claiming more than 290 lives every day.
A majority of people who misused a prescription medication got it from a family member or friend, according to a report published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Properly disposing of medicine is increasingly important as the overdose epidemic rises in the United States, the DEA said. In the year-long period ending in November 2021, the CDC recorded 106,000 overdose deaths. That's the most drug-related deaths ever recorded in a year, with 75% of the deaths being opioid-related.
For those who can't drop off their drugs Saturday, the DEA said every day can be Take Back Day; year-round receptacles are available at more than 13,000 pharmacies, hospitals, police departments and businesses.
To find drop-off locations anywhere in the United States, click here.
