Take Advantage of National Drug Take Back Day on April 24, 2021

Do you have unused or expired medications at home lying around in cabinets that should no longer be used? Holding onto old or unused medications is not a good idea because all medications have an expiration date.  Not only should they not be used once expired, but if not disposed of, the wrong person could get a hold of them and potentially be poisoned. Now is the time to spring into action by cleaning out your medicine cabinets and getting rid of all your unneeded and/or expired medications.

On April 24th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is sponsoring a nation-wide drug take-back and in Texas, the Texas Poison Center Network is doing their part to assist. Safety is our number one concern! The National Prescription Drug Take-Back initiative addresses an important public safety and health issue. Prescription drugs that sit in medicine cabinets for a long period of time tend to be susceptible to misuse. By disposing of them properly and responsibly, this ensures that our families and communities are safer when it comes to prescription drug misuse.

Since the pandemic began over a year ago, prescription drug misuse is extremely high. By turning in unused and expired medications, you can help eliminate some of the potential for prescription misuse. Remember, medications should not be flushed down the toilet, unless it is indicated on the label, because they can affect the clean water supply. Instead of throwing unwanted or unneeded medications in the trash (where kids or others could get to them) or flushing them down the toilet (where it could contaminate the water), head to your nearest medication take-back location or pharmacy and drop them off.

Drug take-back days provide people with a free convenient way to dispose of medications in an environmentally responsible and safe way, and help keep the community safer too. For more information on this initiative or to find a collection site near you, please visit https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/.

You can also call your local poison center at 1-800-222-1222 to gain more information on the safest way to dispose of medication and the best ways to store medication safely.  

Drug Take Back Video: https://www.facebook.com/SoutheastTXPC/videos/776145326342511