With U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley
Q: What is National Take-Back Day?
A: National Take-Back Day offers consumers a safe, convenient and responsible way to dispose of unused or expired prescription medicines. Held one day in the spring and again in the fall, local pharmacies and law enforcement coordinate with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to operate free-of-charge collection sites in neighborhoods and communities across the country. The Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010 allowed the DEA to authorize retail pharmacies and others licensed to handle controlled substances to participate. The program was crafted to protect public safety and public health. The proper disposal of unneeded medicines will help protect natural resources by keeping medicine out of landfills and curb the practice of flushing them into the water supply. It’s also a user-friendly way to keep prescription medicines out of the wrong hands and help prevent accidental poisonings, drug addiction and overdose deaths. One of the most common ways prescription drugs are misused is when they are swiped from the home medicine cabinet of a friend, neighbor or family member. According to the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 6.4 million Americans abused controlled prescription drugs. In less than a decade since the first-ever National Take-Back Day, the United States has experienced exponential growth in opioid addiction and abuse. Prescribed pain killers are one source fueling the epidemic.
Q: Is National Take-Back Day working as Congress intended?
A: One of the ways I work tirelessly to make sure the government functions effectively for the American people is through my oversight work. Keeping tabs on federal dollars and reining in bureaucratic mismanagement requires exhaustive efforts that I apply across-the-board, from stopping federal farm payments to deceased farmers to exposing fraud, waste and abuse of defense and healthcare dollars. From my leadership position as co-chair of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, I prioritize efforts to ensure transparency and accountability for anti-drug programs and look for ways that will empower Americans to keep their homes, schools and streets safe and drug-free. Senator Joni Ernst and I know that Iowans work hard for their money. That’s why we work together to make sure the federal government gets the most bang for every buck paid into the U.S. Treasury. That effort includes National Take-Back Day. We urged the Office of National Drug Control Policy to include an evaluation of this program in the President’s Commission on Combatting Opioid Abuse. Iowans want to do the right thing, yet regulatory barriers may keep more people from participating in the program. At our request, the U.S. Government Accountability Office reviewed Take-Back Day and identified low participation rates due to confusion and high costs associated with the program. With the opioid epidemic showing no end in sight, we can’t afford to allow take-back programs to fall by the wayside. I’ve joined Senators Ernst and Blumenthal to introduce the Access to Increased Drug Disposal Act of 2018. Our bipartisan bill would create a federal demonstration program that would allow five states to apply for grant funding from the Department of Justice to grow participation in their local communities. Getting feedback on how the rubber meets the road will help us increase the effectiveness and utility of the program across the country. Last fall, Americans returned nearly one million pounds of prescription drugs on the 14th National Take-Back Day in October. The DEA tallied a record-setting 912,305 pounds of unneeded prescription medicine. And that’s with 5,321 collection sites available -- a small percentage of pharmacies and other eligible local entities participating. Imagine the amount of unused and unneeded prescribed pain killers that could be safely disposed of if more eligible outlets participated and more Americans were aware about it. More lives could be saved with fewer accidental poisonings, addictions and overdoses adding up in our hometown communities.
The next National Take-Back Day is Saturday, April 28, 2018. For those doing some spring cleaning, don’t forget to clean out the medicine cabinet. Take-Back Day is a good opportunity to take advantage of a free, anonymous and responsible way to take stock of prescription medicines you no longer need and keep your loved ones safe. To find an authorized collection site, contact the DEA Office of Diversion Control’s Registration Call Center (800)882-9539 or go to http://takebackday.dea.gov.