Adelphi Hosts National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has scheduled another National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day to take place on Saturday, September 29, 2012, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The event will provide the public with another opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by properly disposing of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs; no questions asked. For the third time, Adelphi has been chosen as an official drug take-back site. Adelphi is the first college or university in New York State to receive this designation. A drop off box will be located in the Ruth S. Harley University Center lobby. The initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. More than seven million Americans currently abuse prescription drugs, according to the 2009 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The Take-Back Drug Day is open to the community. 

The rate of prescription drug abuse in the United States is extremely high and studies show that teens who abuse prescription drugs often obtain them from family and friends due to easy access to home medicine cabinets. In addition, many Americans do not know how to properly dispose of their unused medicine, as they often flush them down the toilet or throw them away—both potential safety and health hazards. 

Since the first Tack-Back Drug Day in September 2010, nearly 775 tons of pills have been collected by 4,000 state and local law enforcement agencies throughout the nation. Since then, Congress passed the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, which amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow an “ultimate user” of controlled substance medications to dispose of them by delivering them to entities authorized by the Attorney General to accept them. The Act also allows the Attorney General to authorize long term care facilities to dispose of their residents’ controlled substances in certain instances. DEA is drafting regulations to implement the Act. Until new regulations are in place, local law enforcement agencies and the DEA will continue to hold prescription drug take-back events every few months. 

For more information, please contact Greta Tiberia, LMSW, drug and alcohol counselor in the Student Counseling Center, at 516.877.3769 or gtiberia@adelphi.edu.