National prescription drug take back day helps fight drug abuse
Last Saturday, nearly 5,000 law enforcement agencies joined forces at approximately 6,000 collection sites across the nation for the April 27th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.
“Our efforts to reverse the pattern of addiction in America start with preventing drug misuse before it’s too late,” said White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Director James Carroll in a press statement. “In homes across the country, medicine cabinets are full of leftover prescription drugs that have the potential to take someone’s life.”
Approximately 6 million Americans misused controlled prescription drugs — and the majority of those were obtained from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet — according to the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.1
Take Back Day aims to eliminate this threat by offering safe disposal of unused prescription medications to help prevent misuse and potential overdose.
Now in its ninth year, the DEA has collected nearly 11 million pounds — more than 5,400 tons — of unused prescription medications through its Take Back Day events.
Find out more at www.DEATakeBack.com. To learn how MedImpact helps make prescription drugs safer, accessible go to medimpact.com
Sources
1. https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/misuse-prescription-drugs/what-scope-prescription-drug-misuse
2. https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/epidemic/index.html
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