According to officials with the Drug Enforcement Agency, DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day collected 829,543 pounds (419.7 tons) of unused, expired, and unwanted medications across the country.
The El Paso Field Division collected 7,903 pounds of that grand total.
“We thank everyone in El Paso, West Texas, and New Mexico who brought us their medications last weekend,” said Kyle W. Williamson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s El Paso Division. “The nearly 8,000 pounds collected at our locations were the third most we’ve received at our division in the history of this program.”
“DEA’s biannual Take Back Day events are critical to helping reduce overdose deaths and alleviate addiction by safely disposing of prescription medications that sit idle in the home,” said DEA Acting Administrator D. Christopher Evans. “DEA is committed to providing a safe and secure method for the public to rid their homes of potentially dangerous drugs.”
DEA, along with its law enforcement partners, has now collected 14,670,240 million pounds of medications since the inception of the National Prescription Drug Take Back Initiative in 2010.
On October 24, 2020, the public turned in a record 985,392 pounds – almost 493 tons – of medication to DEA and 4,153 of its community partners at 4,587 collection sites nationwide, including 33 Bureau of Indian Affairs sites.
Agency officials said that “Americans once again showed their dedication toward helping prevent addiction and potential overdose by removing prescription pills from their homes.”
The April event included 4,425 community partners at 5,060 collection sites throughout the country.
For those who could not make it to a Take Back location, DEA reminds the community that every day is Take Back Day with more than 11,000 year-round authorized collection sites across the country. For more information, click here.
DEA also encourages the public to reach out to their local law enforcement to find out if they have any permanent drug disposal locations throughout their local community.
Complete results for DEA’s April 2021 Take Back Day are available at www.deatakeback.com
