Northwest Iowa — This Saturday, October 24th, is the second of two annual National Drug Take-Back Days. And there are several places in northwest Iowa where you can take your unwanted medications.
The US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa reports that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is holding its 19th National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on Saturday at locations across the country. They say the nationwide event aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications.
U.S. Attorney Peter Deegan says that many people don’t know how to properly clean out their medicine cabinets. Failing to safely dispose of old medications, especially opioids, all too often leads to dangerous drugs ending up in the wrong hands. He says the DEA is providing an important public service by providing an easy way to dispose of unneeded medications. Deegan says he encourages everyone to get rid of their old and unused prescription medicine in the proper way, and that doing so will make our communities safer.
The US Attorney’s office says rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States 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. Collection sites will adhere to local COVID-19 guidelines and regulations in order to maintain the safety of all participants and local law enforcement.
Given the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency, DEA wants to ensure that the public is aware of other ways they can dispose of unwanted prescription drugs without having to leave their homes. Both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency have tips on how to safely dispose of drugs at home. In addition to DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, prescription drugs can be disposed of at any of the 11,000 DEA authorized collectors at any time throughout the year. For more information, visit: https://apps2.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubdispsearch/spring/main?execution=e1s1.
The DEA says they and their partners will collect tablets, capsules, patches, and other solid forms. DEA will also accept vape pens or other e-cigarette devices from individual consumers, only after the batteries are removed from the devices. If the battery cannot be removed, individual consumers can check with large electronic chain stores who may accept the vape pen or e-cigarette devices for proper disposal.
Liquids, including intravenous solutions, syringes and other sharps, and illegal drugs cannot be dropped off.
They tell us the service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
Several of the locations where you can get rid of your unwanted drugs are open year-round, some of them 24/7, and others during the business’s hours. Many law enforcement offices, pharmacies, and medical clinics have drop off boxes. There is a collection site locator at takebackday.dea.gov, but not all locations are listed. We at KIWA advise you to check the locator, but if a local site is not found, try calling one of the types of locations listed near you to see if they have a drop-off site.
