--- title: "Psych News Alert: Patients Get Opportunity to Safely Dispose of Unwanted Medication" description: The Sixth National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, a program of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), will take place this Saturday Ap... image: https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shutterstock_136152344-4.jpg --- 4/26/13 12:00 AM # Patients Get Opportunity to Safely Dispose of Unwanted Medication ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [ Psychiatric News Alert ](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) Share: [facebook-f icon ](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://alert.psychnews.org/2013/04/patients-get-opportunity-to-safely.html) [linkedin-in icon ](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2013/04/patients-get-opportunity-to-safely.html) [Twitter icon ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2013/04/patients-get-opportunity-to-safely.html) [pinterest-p icon ](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2013/04/patients-get-opportunity-to-safely.html) [envelope icon ](mailto:?body=https://alert.psychnews.org/2013/04/patients-get-opportunity-to-safely.html) | [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shutterstock_136152344-Jun-24-2025-07-13-26-7608-PM.jpg?width=133&height=200&name=shutterstock_136152344-Jun-24-2025-07-13-26-7608-PM.jpg)](https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shutterstock_136152344-Jun-24-2025-07-13-26-7608-PM.jpg) | | | --- | --- | The Sixth National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, a program of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), will take place this Saturday April 27 across the country, giving people a chance to safely dispose of medication they no longer need. National Take-Back Day was initiated to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, or unwanted prescription drugs. Local law enforcement agencies in thousands of American communities have partnered with the DEA to take in more than 2 million pounds—almost 1,018 tons—of expired prescription drugs since September 2010. The DEA says that unused medications in homes create a public-health and safety concern because they are highly susceptible to accidental ingestion, diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high—more Americans currently abuse prescription drugs than the number of those using cocaine, hallucinogens, and heroin combined, according to the most recent National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.  Collection sites will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time. Visit dea.gov and click on the “Got Drugs?” icon for the location of the nearest site. Monitoring programs that offer real-time information to pharmacies could also curtail prescription drug abuse, said Canadian researchers recently. Read about their study and recommendations in* Psychiatric News* [here](http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/newsarticle.aspx?articleid=1384217). (Image: Lisa S./Shutterstock.com) [prescription drug abuse](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/prescription-drug-abuse), [DEA](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/dea), [Drug Enforcement Administration](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/drug-enforcement-administration) ## Related posts [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/pr110311_fig2-Jun-24-2025-06-06-48-2984-PM.jpg?height=200&name=pr110311_fig2-Jun-24-2025-06-06-48-2984-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2011/11/medication-take-back-day-nets-over-188.html) [prescription drug abuse](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/prescription-drug-abuse) ## [Medication Take-Back Day Nets Over 188 Tons](https://alert.psychnews.org/2011/11/medication-take-back-day-nets-over-188.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 11/30/11 12:00 AM [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2011/11/medication-take-back-day-nets-over-188.html) [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/drugtakeback_64972213-Jun-24-2025-07-49-36-8821-PM.jpg?height=200&name=drugtakeback_64972213-Jun-24-2025-07-49-36-8821-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/04/new-opportunity-to-dispose-of-old.html) [prescription drug abuse](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/prescription-drug-abuse), [DEA](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/dea) ## [New Opportunity to Dispose of Old Prescription Meds](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/04/new-opportunity-to-dispose-of-old.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 4/26/12 12:00 AM [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/04/new-opportunity-to-dispose-of-old.html) [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/rx_sideoff-Jun-24-2025-04-14-24-0619-PM.jpg?height=200&name=rx_sideoff-Jun-24-2025-04-14-24-0619-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2011/04/national-medication-take-back-day.html) [opioid abuse](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/opioid-abuse), [pain medication](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/pain-medication) ## [National Medication Take Back Day Tomorrow](https://alert.psychnews.org/2011/04/national-medication-take-back-day.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 4/29/11 12:00 AM [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2011/04/national-medication-take-back-day.html) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Psychiatric News Alert", "url" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert" }, "dateModified" : "2025-06-24T19:18:22.176Z", "datePublished" : "2013-04-26T04:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "Psych News Alert: Patients Get Opportunity to Safely Dispose of Unwanted Medication", "image" : [ "https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shutterstock_136152344-4.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/2013/04/patients-get-opportunity-to-safely.html", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/PN-Blue-Box.jpg" } } } ```