U.S. Attorney Trent Shores announced the DEA will hold the 15th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, April 28th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at 11 collection sites throughout the Northern District of Oklahoma. The event is an effort to rid homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs.
“Studies show that the majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, often from their home medicine cabinet. I encourage our community to use this opportunity to safely and anonymously turn in outdated and unused prescription drugs," U.S. Attorney Shores said.
Last October Americans turned in 456 tons (912,305 pounds) of prescription drugs at more than 5,300 collection sites operated by the DEA and more than 4,200 of its state and local law enforcement partners. Overall, in its 14 previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners have taken in over 9,015,668 pounds-more than 4,508 tons-of pills. The disposal service is free and anonymous, no questions asked. (The DEA cannot accept needles or sharps. The DEA can accept pills, patches, and tightly sealed liquids.)
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 a majority of 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: Four out of five new heroin users started 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.
The collection sites in the Northern District of Oklahoma are:
* Bartlesville Police Department - 615 S. Johnstone Ave., Bartlesville, OK 74003
* Fire Station No. 3 - 100 SE Madison Blvd., Bartlesville, OK 74006
* Fire Station No. 4 - 3501 SE Price Rd., Bartlesville, OK 74006
* Craig County Sheriff’s Office - 101 W. Delaware St., #101, Vinita, OK 74301
* DEA-Tulsa Resident Office - News On 6 Studios, 303 N. Boston Ave., Tulsa, OK 74103
* Mounds Police Department - Mounds City Hall, 1317 Commercial Ave., Mounds, OK 74047
* Osage Nation Police Department - 1071 Grandview Lane, Pawhuska, OK 74056
* Sapulpa Police Department - 20 N. Walnut St., Sapulpa, OK 74066
* Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office - Crime Stoppers (Promenade Mall), 4107 S. Yale, Ste. 142, Tulsa, OK 74135
* Tulsa Police Department - Met East Tulsa, 12466 E. 21st St., Tulsa, OK 74129
* Tulsa Police Department - Patrick Henry Elementary, 3820 E. 41st St., Tulsa, OK 74135
For more information or to locate a collection site nearest 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
