Uncle Sam wants your drugs! This Saturday the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is sponsoring a nationwide prescription drug “take-back,” at 4,000 locations around the country. Seeking to address the fact that in 17 states prescription drug combination overdoses kill more people than traffic accidents, and that prescription drug related treatment admissions have recently increased 400%, the DEA will collect your unused medications, no questions asked.
Taking a page from programs that allow people to turn in handguns without penalty, the DEA wants to see if the same tactic will work to reduce the supply of illicit prescription medication on the street. So if you have extra codeine, Oxycontin, valium or other controlled substances lying around, the DEA will dispose of them safely for you — and even do it greenly. (No illegal drugs though — or injectables).
Full story: Will the Government’s Drug ‘Take-Back’ Do Anything to Reduce Misuse? – TIME Healthland