Communities Across the Country Remove Nearly 664,000 Pounds of Unneeded Prescription Medications to Prevent Drug Misuse
DEA Take Back Day in Bellevue, Washington
SEATTLE, Wash.--On April 22, 2023, DEA and its law enforcement partners came together once again to protect our communities from prescription misuse by safely disposing of 663,725 pounds of unneeded medications at nearly 5,000 collection sites across the country.
Since its inception in 2010, DEA’s bi-annual National Prescription Take Back Day has removed more than 17 million pounds of unnecessary medications from communities across the country.
The DEA Seattle Field Division, which includes Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and Idaho, collected 22,695 pounds of unneeded prescription medication with the help of our law enforcement partners.
Washington 9,321 pounds
Oregon 4,897 pounds
Alaska 2,477 pounds
Idaho 6,000 pounds
Total 22,695 pounds
For more than a decade, Take Back Day has helped Americans easily rid their homes of unneeded medications—those that are old, unwanted, or expired. These medications can be a gateway to addiction and have helped fuel the opioid epidemic.
“Communities across the country again answered the call to rid their homes of unneeded medications to protect loved ones from deadly drugs and drug poisonings,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. “National Prescription Drug Take Back Day continues to protect our communities and create healthier environments by offering safe disposal of prescription medications.”
"DEA Take Back Day, along with our enforcement and outreach efforts, is another important way in which we are working to keep our communities in the Pacific Northwest safe and healthy,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Jacob D. Galvan, DEA Seattle Field Division. “By collecting more than 22.000 pounds of unused medications, we prevented medication misuse and opioid addiction from ever starting.”
DEA continues to expand opportunities to make safe disposal of medications more accessible nationwide. A list of permanent drug-drop boxes located in communities across the country can be found.
Safe medication disposal receptacles along with DEA Take Back events provide families easy, no-cost opportunities to get rid of unnecessary medicines stored in the home that can be susceptible to abuse and theft.
Complete results for DEA’s spring National Prescription Drug Take Back Day are available at Take Back Day (dea.gov).
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