By Chapel Taylor-Olsen
Twice per year, the DEA partners with local, on-the-ground organizations around the country to host a National Take Back Day and remove unneeded and expired medications from our communities. These events are critical in the fight against substance use disorder (SUD) and overdose deaths.
Millions of Americans each year use prescriptions in ways other than intended and 50% of those medications are obtained from family members, friends and home medicine cabinets (SAHMSA, 2020). By getting unneeded and expired medications out of our homes and into proper disposal receptacles, we can reduce accidental poisonings, SUD and overdoses. The next National Take Back Day is just around the corner on Saturday, Oct. 23, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Find your local location at the link below!
The Carbon & Emery Opioid & Substance Use (CEO-SU) Coalition and our partners in Carbon and Emery counties hosted local events during the April 2021 Take Back Day. Between the two sponsored locations, the team was able to collect and dispose of over 65 pounds of unneeded medications from our rural communities. Everyone who came to the event received a swag bag with educational materials and goodies donated by the coalition partners.
This fall, Take Back Day falls on Saturday, Oct. 23 and HEART and the coalition partners will be at it again. We’ll have a location in Carbon County (CJ’s Do It Center) and another in Emery County (Stewart’s Market). Both locations will have easy, drive-through access to anonymous medication drop-off. Local law enforcement will be on hand to properly dispose of any medications or vape devices. Stop in early to make sure you get a swag bag! Or, you can find a location near you now: takebackday.dea.gov.
Resources:
DEA Drop Box Finder
bit.ly/3tvUgQy
DEA National Take Back Day Website
https://takebackday.dea.gov/
Utah Drop Box Locator
https://useonlyasdirected.org/locations
SAHMSA Opioid Treatment Site Locator
https://Dpt2.samhsa.gov/treatment/directory.aspx
Utah Resource Locator
https://211utah.org/
References
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA]. (2020). Key substance use and mental health indicators in the United States: Results from the 2019 national survey on drug use and health (HHS Publication No. PEP19‐5068, NSDUH Series H‐54). Rockville, MD: Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/reports/rpt29393/2019NSDUHFFRPDFWHTML/2019NSDUHFFR090120.htm