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AmeriHealth Supports the Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Prescription “Drug Take-Back Day”

In a nationwide effort to clear homes of potentially dangerous, expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs, AmeriHealth is supporting the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day taking place on Saturday, April 30.

According to a national survey on Drug Use and Health, more Americans currently abuse prescription drugs than the number of those using cocaine, hallucinogens, and heroin combined. The Partnership for a Drug Free America reports that each day, approximately, 2,500 teens use prescription drugs to get high for the first time. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including the home medicine cabinet. In addition, it’s advised that usual methods of disposing unused medicines — flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash — both pose potential safety and health hazards.

This year on April 30 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the DEA will offer hundreds of locations across the Philadelphia region available for the public to dispose unwanted prescription drugs. The service is free and anonymous; no questions asked. For more information and to find the collection site nearest you, visit www.dea.gov, click on “Got Drugs?” and enter your zip code.

During its inaugural National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day in September 2010, the DEA collected more than 121 tons of prescription drugs at nearly 4,100 collection sites across the country. This year’s collection numbers are expected to exceed the 2010 figures.

For more information regarding National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, read the AmeriHealth press release.