On September 26th 2015, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the Cayce Department of Public Safety and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will give the public its tenth opportunity in four years to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. Bring your pills for disposal to either CVS Pharmacy in Cayce SC (2410 Charleston Highway or 500 Knox Abbott Drive). (The DEA cannot accept liquids or needles or sharps, only pills or patches.) The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
During the last event, which was held Sept. 27, 2014, DEA collected 617,150 pounds (309 tons) of unwanted medication. On this day, thousands of DEA-coordinated collection sites across the country accepted tablets, capsules, and all other solid dosage forms of medicines, including prescription painkillers and other controlled substance medications. In four years and nine Take-Back Days, consumers have disposed of at least 4.8 million pounds (2,411 tons) of unwanted medication.
This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards.
DEA is in the process of approving new regulations that implement the Safe and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, which amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow an “ultimate user” (that is, a patient or their family member or pet owner) of controlled substance medications to dispose of them by delivering them to entities authorized by the Attorney General to accept them. The Act also allows the Attorney General to authorize long term care facilities to dispose of their residents’ controlled substances in certain instances.
For more information, please contact Sergeant Evan R. Antley at 803-550-9536.