Saturday is the 19th annual National Prescription Drug Take Back Day and individuals looking to get rid of expired or unused prescription drugs in their medicine cabinets can do so on that day.
The Drug Enforcement Administration is sponsoring a National Prescription Drug Take Back Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Sunrise Mall in front of the Luby’s entrance in Brownsville. The San Benito Police Department is also hosting an event at its police department at 601 North Oscar Williams Road.
To keep everyone safe, collection sites will follow local COVID-19 guidelines and regulations.
During the Oct. 26, 2019 18th National Take Back Day the following occurred:
>>Total Law Enforcement Participation: 4,896
>>Total Collection Sites: 6,174
>>Total Weight Collected: 882,919 lbs. (441.5 Tons)
Officials said National Prescription Drug Take Back Day events provide a chance for Americans to prevent drug addiction and overdose deaths. Rates of prescriptions drug abuse in the United States are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs, the DEA said in press release.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 67,367 drug overdose deaths in 2018.
