The Drug Enforcement Administration is holding its biannual National Take Back Day on Saturday, Oct. 25. It allows for people to anonymously dispose of drugs that are legal, prescribed and unwanted at the Boone County Sheriff’s Office and other police departments around Missouri.
National Take Back Day started in August 2010. According to the DEA, the organization holds the event to make sure prescription drugs don’t get into the wrong hands. Irina Butler is the executive director for the Pharmaceutical Product Stewardship Work Group and oversees MyOldMeds.com, a website that has a year-round locator for proper medicine disposal. Butler said proper disposal of drugs addresses several health and public safety concerns.
“Proper management and disposal of drugs from households also combats drug abuse, drug diversion and accidental ingestion and poisoning,” Butler said. “We definitely encourage residents to ensure that medicines that they’re not using or expired get out of the home and in a safe way.”
MyOldMeds.com has 629 listed sites to properly dispose of medicine across Missouri. According to the DEA, Missouri had 131 collection sites that collected more than 21,000 pounds of drugs during the last National Take Back Day in April.
Scott Clardy is the administrator for the Cooper County Public Health Center and an advisor on the University of Missouri’s Department of Public Health External Advisory Board. He said proper medication disposal can also protect the environment.
“If you flush them down the toilet, they can impact the water systems, and they could make some bacteria more antibiotic resistant,” Clardy said. “[Take Back Day] helps us minimize the amount of bacteria that become antibiotic resistant. It helps everybody through protecting the environment.”
Butler said storing and managing medications safely and properly also helps with properly disposing them after.
“Make sure that it is in a safe place in your home that's not easily accessible by others that may be in your home or pets that may be in your home,” Butler said.
Drug disposal locations for National Take Back Day are available on the DEA’s website. Year-round drug disposal sites are available on the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services website and MyOldMeds.com.
