20th Drug Take Back Day is Saturday

The Du Quoin Police Department will host its 20th Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, urging residents with expired, unused and unwanted prescription medication to turn them into the police station.

The Du Quoin public is asked to drop off the potentially dangerous prescription medications at the Du Quoin Police Department, 304 E. Poplar St., on Saturday, April 24.

The police will collect tablets, capsules, patches and other solid forms of prescription drugs. Liquids (including intravenous solutions), syringes and other sharps, and illegal drugs will not be accepted. DEA will continue to accept vaping devices and cartridges at its drop off locations provided lithium batteries are removed.

The Take Back Day is sponsored nationwide by the Drug Enforcement Administration. At the previous Take Back Day in October, DEA collected a record-high amount of pharmaceuticals, with the American public turning in close to 500 tons of unwanted drugs.

Over the 10-year span of Take Back Day (done twice a year), DEA has brought in more than 6,800 tons of prescription drugs. With studies indicating a majority of abused prescription drugs come from family and friends, including from home medicine cabinets, clearing out unused medicine is essential.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. has seen an increase in overdose deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic, with 83,544 Americans overdosing during the 12-month period ending July 1, 2020, the most ever recorded in a 12-month period.

The increase in drug overdose deaths appeared to begin prior to the COVID-19 health emergency, but accelerated significantly during the first months of the pandemic.

Helping people dispose of potentially harmful prescription drugs is just one way DEA is working to reduce addiction and stem overdose deaths.

Learn more about the event at www.deatakeback.com, or at (800) 882-9539.