FORT SILL, Okla. -- April 23 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. people may return expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs, in pill or patch form, to collection bins at the Fort Sill Main Exchange and the commissary.
Co-hosted by the Army Substance Abuse Program and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), this will be the eighth opportunity in three years for people to rid their households of potentially dangerous drugs. Doing so may also help prevent pill abuse and theft.
The importance of this event for Soldiers can be found in Army regulations. According to recent changes made to Army Regulation 40-51, "Medical Review Officers and Review of Positive Urinalysis Drug Testing Results," controlled substances can only be used up to six months from the prescription date.
In 2013 take back days collected 160 pounds of medications for disposal here. That number contributed to the 324 tons of medications Americans properly disposed of in October.
Three hundred twenty-four tons, or 645,000 pounds, this is equivalent to over 3,300 average sized, 195-pound American men.
This pill mountain rose up from turn-ins at over 4,100 sites operated by the DEA and its thousands of state and local law enforcement partners. When those results are combined with the seven previous take back events, the DEA and its partners have collected an estimated 3.4 million pounds of pills.
To get an idea of how enormous this 3.4-million pound pile is, consider 24 average one-half-inch-long tablets equals 1 ounce and placed end to end equals one foot. That mammoth pile would equal about 1.3 trillion pills. In nautical miles (6,000 feet), 144,000 pills placed end to end would reach one nautical mile, and laid out in a linear fashion, the pills would stretch over 9,000 nautical miles. Starting from Denver, one would have enough pills to roughly reach to and from Berlin, Germany.
The take back initiative addresses a vital public safety and health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.
In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual method for disposing of unused medicines flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash poses potential safety and health hazards.
The DEA is in the process of approving new regulations that implement the Safe and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, which amends the Controlled Substances Act. The intent is to allow an ultimate user (a patient, their family member or pet owner) of controlled substance medications to dispose of them by delivering them for disposal to entities authorized by the attorney general. The act also allows the attorney general to authorize long-term care facilities to dispose of their residents' controlled substances in certain instances.
People who intend to bring unused drugs for disposal are reminded to not bring liquids, needles or sharps. The service is free and anonymous, and no questions will be asked. For those who have liquid medication that want to return, currently take back days don't accept these medications.
The Food and Drug Administration recommends pouring the liquid into a plastic container or sealable bag and mixing in used cat litter or coffee grounds. Also, people should remove or conceal any personal information on medication bottles before throwing them away.
More information is available on the FDA website, www.fda.gov by typing in "disposal of prescription drugs" in the A to Z index box at the top of the page.
There are several safe ways to dispose of sharps (needles). In most cases, the sharp container may be turned into the doctor's office or pharmacy where purchased or mailed to a collection site as identified by medical professionals. The American Syringe Exchange Network also maintains a program where people can dispose of old needles. Call them at 253-272-4875 or visit www.nasen.org.
Editor's note:Some information courtesy Drug Enforcement Agency
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