Drug Take-Back Day Is April 28 Nationwide And In Michigan

You know all those old, near-empty prescription bottles that you absolutely want to get out of the way but haven’t in forever?

Nobody’s judging. We understand: You’ve just been smart enough not to thrown them away with your regular garbage and, well, you won’t have that excuse Saturday, April 28.

In Michigan, you can dispose of unused medication on the 28th at any of the Michigan State Police’s 30 posts from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. All collected pills will be destroyed. No liquids, inhalers, patches, or syringes will be accepted.

“With opioid and prescription drug abuse, accidental poisonings and overdoses becoming all too common, I strongly urge Michiganders to use this opportunity to check what is in your medicine cabinet and then properly dispose of any medications you no longer need,” said Col. Kriste Kibbey Etue, director of the MSP.

National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is held twice a year, in April and October. During the October 2017 effort, MSP posts collected roughly 802 pounds of prescription drugs.

Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. Further, disposing of unused medicines by flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash can pose safety and health hazards.

Last fall, Americans turned in a record-setting 912,305 pounds — or 456 tons — of potentially dangerous drugs, almost 6 tons more than collected at the spring 2017 event. That brings to 4,508 tons the amount of prescription drugs collected by the DEA since the fall of 2010.

More events will be added through the week, so be sure to check here to find a convenient location.

Included in the haul are ever-higher amounts of opioids, the DEA said. Though prescribed for pain management, these highly addictive drugs can be stolen and abused by family members and visitors, including children and teens. Opioid use has been declared a public health emergency by President Trump.

Often, the path to addiction to illegal drugs like heroin begins at a doctor’s office.

“The abuse of these prescription drugs has fueled the nation’s opioid epidemic which has led to the highest rate of overdose deaths this country has ever seen,” DEA Acting Administrator Robert W. Patterson said in a statement. “This is a crisis that must be addressed from multiple angles. Educating the public and removing these medications from households across the United State prevents misuse where it often starts.”

In 2016, opioids were involved in 42,249 overdose deaths, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Overdose deaths were five times higher in 2016, the latest year for which statistics are available, than they were in 1999.

The majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet, the DEA said.

Other methods of disposal — throwing unused drugs out with the trash or flushing them down the toilet — can cause environmental damage, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

But it’s not just opioids that pose dangers. Expired prescription drugs can be less effective or risky due to changes over time in chemical composition. Some expired medications are at risk of bacterial growth, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Expired antibiotics may not treat infections, leading to more serious illnesses and antibiotic resistance, the DEA said.

The drugs must have been prescribed to a member of your household. Illegal drugs can’t be disposed of during the events, nor can syringes and needles. More information is available here.

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