Step.- On April 22, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and its law enforcement partners came together once again to protect our communities from prescription misuse by safely disposing of 663,725 pounds of unnecessary medications in nearly 5,000 collection sites across the country.
Since its inception in 2010, the DEA’s biannual National Prescription Take-Back Day has removed more than 17 million pounds of unnecessary medications from communities across the country.
West Texas’ 17 counties generated 2,144 pounds, while New Mexico’s counties generated 2,787 pounds. That was 830 pounds more than the October Take Back event in 2022.
For more than a decade, Take Back Day has helped Americans easily rid their homes of unnecessary medications—those that are old, unwanted, or expired. These drugs can be a gateway to addiction, and have helped fuel the opioid epidemic.
“Communities across the country have again responded to the call to remove unnecessary medications from their homes to protect their loved ones from deadly drugs and drug poisoning,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram.
“National Prescription Drug Take Back Day continues to protect our communities and create healthier environments by offering safe drug disposal.”
“Once again, the communities of West Texas and New Mexico answered our call,” said Greg Millard, special agent in charge of the DEA’s El Paso Division. “I can’t thank you enough.” The DEA continues to expand opportunities to make safe drug disposal more accessible across the country.
Secure medication disposal receptacles in conjunction with DEA Take Back events provide families with easy, no-cost opportunities to dispose of unnecessary medications stored at home that may be susceptible to abuse and theft.
Complete results from the DEA’s spring National Prescription Drug Take Back Day are available at www.deatakeback.com.
