CONCORD, N.H. - Acting United States Attorney John J. Farley encourages the public to participate in the Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017. This biannual event will be held form 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at thousands of collection sites around the country, including over 100 here in New Hampshire. This event is an important effort to rid homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs.
“I encourage everyone in our state to join in our efforts to combat the opioid crisis by participating in National Prescription Take Back Day," said Acting U.S. Attorney Farley. “As our state and our nation combat the opioid crisis, we have heard far too many stories of individuals whose paths to addiction began with the misuse of prescription drugs. One way that all citizens in the Granite State can help to fight this drug epidemic is to remove any unneeded prescription drugs from their homes. Properly disposing of these drugs can prevent them from falling into the wrong hands. The simple act of disposing of unneeded drugs may help to prevent someone you love from misusing these drugs or dying from an overdose."
"The abuse of opioid prescription drugs can lead to the path of addiction and overdose death," said DEA Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Ferguson. "We are proud to partner with the New Hampshire U.S. Attorney's Office and the residents of the Granite State to provide a method to dispose of unwanted, unused and expired pain killers and addictive medicines. The abuse of opioids is our nation’s biggest drug problem."
Prior Drug Take Back Day events have been very successful. Last April, Americans turned in 450 tons (900,000 pounds) or prescription drugs at almost 5,500 sites operated by the DEA and more than 4,200 of its state and local law enforcement partners. Overall, in its 13 previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners have taken in over 8.1 million pounds-more than 4,050 tons-of pills. The disposal service is free and anonymous, no questions asked. Please note that the DEA cannot accept liquids, needles, or sharps, only pills or patches.
Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that most abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 91 Americans die each day from an opioid overdose. Some painkiller abusers move on to heroin. In fact, four out of five new heroin users started their drug use with painkillers.
Flushing medications down the toilet or throwing them in the trash pose potential safety and health hazards. This initiative addresses the public safety and public health issues that surround medications languishing in home cabinets, becoming highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse.
For more information or to locate a collection site near you, go the DEA Prescription Drug Take Back Day web site at https://takebackday.dea.gov/#collection-locator where you can search by zip code, city, or state.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
