Steven W. Derr, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England, as well as community, public health and law enforcement partners are reminding the public of the third nationwide Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.
DEA will collect potentially dangerous, expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs for destruction at sites nationwide, Sat., Oct. 29 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., in Lincoln County at the Boothbay Harbor Town Office; Miles Memorial Hospital, Damariscotta; Sproul Block, Waldoboro; Sheepscot Valley Health Center, Coopers Mills; and in the Wiscasset 911 Center, lower level.
The service is free and anonymous; no questions asked. To find other locations visit www.dea.gov.
Last April, the New England Field Division collected 38,190 pounds of prescription medications during the DEA Take-Back initiative. In New England, there were 606 return sites and 521 participating agencies.
“Prescription drug abuse is an enormous problem throughout all of New England,” said Derr. “The Take-Back event is a terrific method for disposing of unwanted or unneeded medications, and serves to keep our communities safe.”
Americans participating in DEA’s two previous National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day events turned in more than 309 tons of pills at more than 5300 sites manned by over 3800 federal, state and local law enforcement partners.
Prescription drugs that languish in home medicine cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse, creating a public health crisis. The rate of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. today is at an alarmingly high level – two-and-a-half times more people currently abuse prescription drugs than the number of those using cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, and inhalants combined, according to the recently released 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH).
The same study shows that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.
DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart said, “Americans overwhelmingly responded to the first two national Take-Back Day events, and we hope the Oct. 29 event is no different. With everyone’s support, we can reduce the risk of prescription drug diversion and abuse, while increasing the awareness of this important public health issue.”
The public can find a nearby collection site by visiting www.dea.gov and clicking the “Got Drugs?” banner, which links to a database to enter a zip code.
Law enforcement agencies interested in hosting a collection site on Oct. 29 can register with the DEA by calling their local DEA Field Division office (for a list of DEA Points of Contact for each state, click on the “Got Drugs?” banner on the website and then click on the “law enforcement” link).
Four days after DEA’s first event on Sept. 25, 2010, Congress passed the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, which amends the Controlled Substances Act and will allow users of controlled substance medications to dispose of their drugs by delivering them to entities authorized by the Attorney General to accept them.
The Act also allows the Attorney General to authorize long-term care facilities to dispose of their residents’ controlled substances in certain instances. The DEA is in the process of drafting regulations to implement the Act.
Prescription drug disposal and the DEA’s Take-Back events are significant pieces of the White House’s Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Plan released this year by the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
Purging home medicine cabinets of neglected drugs is one of four strategies for reducing prescription drug abuse and diversion laid out in “Epidemic: Responding to America’s Prescription Drug Abuse Crisis.”
The other strategies include education of healthcare providers, patients, parents and youth; establishing prescription drug monitoring programs in all states; and increased enforcement to address doctor shopping and pill mills.
