Attorney General Wilson encourages South Carolinians to safely dispose of unwanted medications Saturday

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson encourages all South Carolinians to take part in the 22nd National Drug Take Back Day this Saturday, April 30, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Twice a year, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) proclaims a national day to ask everyone to safely dispose of unused medication. At the last Take Back Day in October, the DEA collected 744,082 pounds (372 tons) of expired, unwanted, and unused prescription drugs. South Carolinians dropped off 9,663 pounds last October. Both of those totals may include materials other than prescription drugs because the sites also take back vaping devices and vaping cartridges. In the previous 21 National Take Back Days combined, South Carolinians safely disposed of a total of 133,839 pounds of unwanted and unused medication. Nationwide, a total of 15,268,473 pounds (7,634 tons) of drugs have been turned in.

Last October, there were almost 5,000 locations nationwide where you could drop off your unused or unwanted medicines. To find a location near you, go to TakeBackDay.DEA.gov.

“The message is clear and simple: take back and dispose,” Attorney General Wilson said. “There’s no question that South Carolina has an opioid crisis and this is a way anyone with unused opioids can fight that. We know that most people who are prescribed opioids don’t use all of them. We also know that most people who start using heroin did so after first becoming addicted to prescription opioids.”

A 2017 study found that up to 92 percent of patients prescribed opioids did not use their full prescription. Another study found that nearly 80 percent of Americans who recently started using heroin reported misusing prescription opioids first.

Go to your medicine cabinet, or wherever you keep medicine and check for any unused or expired medications, including opioids. Opioids go by many names including Vicodin, Oxycontin, Percocet, Opana, tramadol, morphine, Kadian, and Avinz.

In 2019, an average of 38 people a day in the U.S. died from overdoses involving prescription opioids. Just because something is prescribed doesn’t mean it is safe for all purposes. Each year, almost 10 million Americans abuse or misuse prescription pain medicines. The majority of those cases come from taking drugs from a family member’s or friend’s prescription.

Senior citizens are especially likely to keep unused pills. A grandparent’s medicine cabinet is an easy place for teenagers or other loved ones to fuel their addiction. Check your own medicine cabinet first and encourage loved ones to clean out their unused medications too.

It’s not only opioids that pose a threat if not disposed of properly, though. Unused or expired medications can lead to accidental poisoning, misuse, and overdose. Proper disposal saves lives and protects the environment.

Collection sites will accept tablets, capsules, patches, and other solid forms of prescription drugs. Liquids (including intravenous solutions), syringes and other sharps, and illegal drugs will not be accepted. Take Back sites will continue to accept vaping devices and cartridges at their drop-off locations provided lithium batteries are removed.