There are 7,729 less pounds of prescriptions availible for abuse in Oregon thanks to everyone who participated in National Drug Take Back Day the last weekend in April.
Modeled on Lines for Life’s ground breaking original Drug Takeback, pioneered in cooperation with the Oregon Medical Association Alliance in 2010, the National Drug take back has since removed over 4.1 million pounds of prescription medications from circulation.
The National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day aims to provide a safe, secure, and environmentally responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse and trafficking of medications. This is important because the non-medical use of controlled substance (CS) medications is at an all-time high, with 6.8 million Americans reporting having abused prescription drugs in 2012, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) released in 2013. That same study revealed more than 54 percent of people who abuse prescription pain relievers got them through friends or relatives, a statistic that includes raiding the family medicine cabinet.
Remember: Lock up the presription medications you need and safely dispose of those that are expired or are uneeded.
Together we can help stem the growth of this national epidemic.