Drug Take Back Day is Saturday, Oct. 26

From The Partnership for Substance Free Youth in Buncombe County: 

The Partnership for Substance Free Youth in Buncombe County will host several medication drop off sites for the DEA National Prescription Take Back day on Saturday 10/26/18 from 10am-2pm in collaboration with local businesses and law enforcement. Through these events and permanent medication drop boxes in our community, The Partnership for Substance Free Youth in Buncombe County has already collected 400 pounds of unneeded or expired prescription medications in 2019.

Last fall Americans turned in nearly 469 tons (more than 937,000 pounds) of prescription drugs at nearly 6,300 sites operated by the DEA and almost 5,000 of its state and local law enforcement partners. Overall, in its 17 previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners have taken in more than 11.8 million pounds—approximately 5,900 tons—of pills.

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 United States are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows year after year that the majority of misused and abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including someone else’s medication being stolen 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.

Participating in National Take Back Day provides community members with an opportunity to help prevent prescription and over-the-counter medicine misuse and abuse by disposing of unused or expired medicines in a safe, convenient, and responsible way.

For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or about the October 26 Take Back Day event, go to DEATakeBack.com

The event will take place at multiple locations across Buncombe County from 10am-2pm:

Walgreens: 1124 Patton Ave, Asheville

Walgreens: 1835 Hendersonville Road, Asheville

Walgreens: 91 S. Tunnel Road, Asheville

Walgreens: 841 Merrimon Avenue, Asheville

CVS: 425 W State St. Black Mountain

Asheville Airport – Public Safety Building, Fletcher

SONA Pharmacy: 805 Fairview Rd, Asheville

Asheville Mountain Pharmacy: 1272 Tunnel Rd. Ste 20, Asheville

Please remove identification from all medications, and separate pills, liquids and inhalers into different bags or containers.  We cannot accept radioactive medications such as cancer medications. Also, we cannot accept needles or sharps. All medications collected during the event are considered anonymous and will be incinerated by the Drug Enforcement Agency.

How to Safely Store Medications

Store medications in secure locations such as:

Medication lock box
Cabinet with lock
Or other lockable spaces

Avoid storage places where children and others can easily access, such as:

Drawers
Nightstands
Or kitchen cabinets

How to Dispose of Medications

Once finished with a medication, you have three options for disposal:

Safely dispose of medications by placing them in a local Buncombe County drug drop-box:

Lobby of Buncombe Sheriff’s Office – 339 New Leicester Highway, Leicester
Lobby of Buncombe County Courthouse – 60 Court Plaza, Downtown Asheville
Lobby of Asheville Police Department – 100 Court Plaza

Take advantage of community drug take-back programs that allow the public to bring unused medications to central locations for proper disposal.

No drop-box or take back near you?  Dispose medications safely at home:

Remove pills from bottle and mix them with undesirable substances such as kitty litter or coffee grounds.
Throw away the sealed mixture into the trash.
Remove the prescription label and dispose of the empty bottle.