ST. LOUIS – Communities in the tri-state Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) St. Louis Division safely disposed of 25,726 pounds of unneeded and expired medications, October 25, at the 29th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. Nationally, the DEA and its law enforcement partners removed 571,054 pounds of medication at 4,317 collection sites.
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Nearly 150 law enforcement partners across Kansas, Missouri and Southern Illinois joined the DEA in hosting 216 Take Back Day locations.
“Take Back Day not only provides community members with a safe place to dispose of unneeded prescription medications, but it also serves as a conversation starter for families,” DEA St. Louis Division Special Agent in Charge Michael Davis said. “We encourage you to use this opportunity to open dialogue with your friends and family about the consequences that can come from prescription misuse and abuse.”
Since its inception in 2010, more than 20 million pounds of medication have been collected at DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. The removal of these medications from homes nationwide helps prevent prescription drug misuse and reduces the potential for accidental overdoses and poisonings.
For those unable to participate in National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, there are nearly 16,500 pharmacies, hospitals and businesses, in addition to numerous police departments, that offer safe medication disposal year-round. For information on permanent drop-off locations, please visit DEA’s Every Day is Take Back Day website.
Complete results for DEA’s fall National Prescription Drug Take Back Day are available at www.dea.gov/TakeBackDay.
