October 22, 2021

MCHD supports Take Back Day for prescription drugs

MOBILE, Ala. — With opioid overdose deaths increasing during the pandemic, the Drug Enforcement Administration announces its next National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is scheduled for Saturday, October 23. At its last Take Back Day in April, DEA collected a large amount of expired, unwanted, and unused prescription medications, with the public turning in close to 420 tons of unwanted drugs.

The DEA has brought in more than 7,200 tons of prescription drugs. With studies indicating a majority of abused prescription drugs come from family and friends, including from home medicine cabinets, clearing out unused medicine is essential.

New information this month from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows a record number of Americans died from drug overdoses in a 12-month period. During the pandemic, more than 96,000 drug overdose deaths were reported from March 2020 to March 2021. The CDC said opioids accounted for the highest number of overdose deaths followed by synthetic opioids, excluding methadone.

The public can drop off potentially dangerous prescription medications at collection sites which will adhere to local COVID-19 guidelines and regulations in order to maintain the safety of all participants and local law enforcement.

According to the DEA, the Mobile Police Department will provide a drop-off location at its headquarters (2460 Government Street in Mobile). The Mobile County Sheriff’s Department will have drop-off locations at Costco (1450 Tingle Circle East in Mobile), Walgreens #15151 (5707 Cottage Hill Road in Mobile), and CVS #4888 (4453 Old Shell Road in Mobile). Medications can be dropped off between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

DEA and its partners will collect tablets, capsules, patches, and other solid forms of prescription drugs. Liquids (including intravenous solutions), syringes and other sharps, and illegal drugs will not be accepted. DEA will continue to accept vaping devices and cartridges at its drop-off locations provided lithium batteries are removed.

You can learn more about the event by visiting https://takebackday.dea.gov. To learn more about overdose prevention, call 251-410-OD2A (6388).