DALLAS – On April 30, 2022, communities across the country demonstrated their support for DEA’s annual National Prescription Drug Take Back Day by dropping off more than 720,000 pounds of unneeded medications at 5,144 collection sites. Since 2010, DEA and its law enforcement partners have collected nearly 16 million pounds of unneeded prescription medications.
The Dallas Field Division collected 33,550 pounds of unwanted, unused, or expired prescription medications in North Texas and Oklahoma. DEA Dallas had over 178 sites with more than 153 local law enforcement partners.
“National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is an important part of DEA’s efforts to fight the overdose epidemic and save lives,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. “I encourage everyone across the country to dispose of unneeded medications throughout the year to help keep our communities safe and healthy.”
“The DEA is so pleased with this great turnout and partnership from North Texas and Oklahoma. We would like to thank our law enforcement partners and residents,” said Eduardo A. Chavez, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Dallas Field Division. “It is so important to dispose of unneeded prescription drugs year-round to ensure those drugs don’t fall into the wrong hands.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that in the United States, over 107,000 people died as a result of a drug overdose last year. This figure means that someone in the United States is dying of a drug overdose every 5 minutes.
Take Back Day events provide easy, no-cost opportunities to dispose of medicines stored in the home that are susceptible to abuse and theft. There are many permanent drug-drop boxes located in communities across the country. A list of permanent locations can be found here.
Complete results for DEA’s spring National Prescription Drug Take Back Day are available at www.DEATakeBack.com. DEA’s next National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is scheduled for October 29, 2022.
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