DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day collected 829,543 pounds (419.7 tons) of unused, expired, and unwanted medications across the country. Americans once again showed their dedication toward helping prevent addiction and potential overdose by removing prescription pills from their homes. Our April event included 4,425 community partners at 5,060 collection sites throughout the country.

“DEA’s biannual Take Back Day events are critical to helping reduce overdose deaths and alleviate addiction by safely disposing of prescription medications that sit idle in the home,” said DEA Acting Administrator D. Christopher Evans. “DEA is committed to providing a safe and secure method for the public to rid their homes of potentially dangerous drugs.”

“The success of this year’s initiative is due in large part to the citizens in the community who joined us in responsibly disposing of unused and unwanted prescription medications,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Frank Tarentino. “With the current opioid epidemic and significant increase in overdoses, fatal and non-fatal, the DEA has doubled down on our commitment and efforts to stop the abuse of this narcotic.”

The Pacific Northwest consisting of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska collected 36,259 pounds at 182 collection sites, broken down as follows: Washington; 15,558 pounds, Oregon; 11,257 pounds, Idaho; 5,829 pounds, and Alaska 3,615 pounds.

DEA, along with its law enforcement partners, has now collected 14,670,240 million pounds of medications since the inception of the National Prescription Drug Take Back Initiative in 2010. On Oct. 24, 2020, the public turned in a record 985,392 pounds – almost 493 tons – of medication to DEA and 4,153 of its community partners at 4,587 collection sites nationwide, including 33 Bureau of Indian Affairs sites.

For those who could not make it to a Take Back location, DEA reminds the community that every day is Take Back Day with more than 11,000 year-round authorized collection sites across the country. For more information, visit: https://apps2.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubdispsearch/spring/main?execution=e1s1.

Auburn Perscription Drop Off Locations:

HealthPoint Auburn Pharmacy
126 Auburn Ave, Ste 104
Auburn WA, 98002

HealthPoint Auburn North Pharmacy
923 Auburn Way N
Auburn, WA 98002

Auburn Police Department
104 E Main St
Auburn WA, 98002

Muckleshoot HWC Pharmacy
17500 SE 392nd St
Auburn, WA, 98092

DEA also encourages the public to reach out to their local law enforcement to find out if they have any permanent drug disposal locations throughout their local community.

Complete results for DEA’s April 2021 Take Back Day are available at www.deatakeback.com.

The above is a press release from the DEA. The Auburn Examiner has not independently verified its contents and encourages our readers to personally verify any information they find may be overly biased or questionable. The publication of this press release does not indicate an endorsement of its content.