Why is Safe Medication Disposal Important?

On October 27, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will host its 16^th National Drug Take Back Day. This safe medication disposal 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.

A previous National Drug Take Back Day on April 28 generated the collection and subsequent disposal of 949,046 pounds of prescription medications nationwide.¹ This brings the total amount of prescription drugs collected by the DEA since the fall of 2010 to 9,964,714 pounds, or 4,982 tons. Pennsylvania alone accounted for 37,290 pounds disposed.

Managing Your Medicine Cabinet

Did you know that 1 in 4 teens has misused prescription drugs? What’s more, two-thirds of these cases are supplied from the family medicine cabinet.² Ensuring that unused medication is properly disposed of is a critical first step in cutting off access to medications whose misuse can be an entry point for a lifelong battle with opioid use disorder.

The two most effective ways to protect against potential misuse of a medication is to properly dispose of any unused medication and to closely monitor prescription counts. Counting medication and paying close attention to refill dates can be an effective safeguard for your family. Have you noticed inaccurate prescription counts or do you often have to refill prescriptions before the indicated date? If you have leftover prescription medication or it has expired, you should dispose of it as soon as possible.

Medication Disposal List

Acceptable Items

• Prescription tablets and capsules
• Over-the-counter tablets and capsules
• Liquid medications
• Inhalers
• Creams and ointments
• Nasal sprays
• Pet medications

Restricted Items

• Intravenous and injectable solutions
• Needles
• Street drugs

Where Can You Safely Dispose of Prescription Drugs?

There are more than 734 take-back sites across Pennsylvania. In addition, in an effort to expand access to safe medication resources, the IBC Foundation has joined forces with Walgreens to install new, 24-hour safe medication disposal kiosks at select Walgreens pharmacies.

NEW! Montgomery County Mobile Drug Take Back

In response to Montgomery County residents expressing difficulty in getting to drug take-back sites, the district attorney’s office, in collaboration with the Police Chiefs Association, has launched their new MINI Pill Mobile. This MINI Cooper has been outfitted with a pill disposal box and will be making the rounds at local community events.

¹https://takebackday.dea.gov/sites/default/files/NTBI%20XV%20Totals.pdf
²https://drugfree.org/article/medicine-abuse-whats-happening-why/

Evan Cantiello

Evan Cantiello joined the IBC Foundation team at the start of 2018. In his role as Senior Program Specialist he supports the foundation’s grant making, program development, research and communications. Evan brings to the Foundation more than a decade of experience in the nonprofit sector in direct service and program development locally and on a national scale. As a result, Evan has collaborated across private and public sectors to address the issues of homelessness and substance use and behavioral health disorders. He holds a B.A. from Eastern University and an M.Ed. in Human Development from Temple University. Evan is also an adjunct professor at Esperanza College and Rutgers University Camden.