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Quest Diagnostics proudly supports the DEA National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on October 26, 2019

On Saturday, October 26, from 10 AM to 2 PM, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is encouraging communities to help prevent drug addiction and overdose deaths by discarding expired and unused prescription drugs in a safe, convenient, and responsible way.

Did you know that how you dispose of your prescription medicines is an urgent public health issue?

Expired or unused prescription medicines that are kept at home or disposed of improperly often end up in the wrong hands with dangerous results. According to the DEA’s 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health1:

6 million Americans misused controlled prescription drugs.

A majority of abused prescription drugs were obtained from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet.

Improper drug disposal such as flushing down the toilet or throwing into the garbage can pose public safety issues.

The connection to the national opioid epidemic

Opioids are a class of drugs that includes prescription painkillers and illegal drugs like heroin. When used properly, prescription pain medicines are an important tool for relieving suffering. But according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we’re currently facing an opioid abuse crisis. In 2017, more than 70,000 people died from drug overdoses, and of those deaths, almost 68% involved a prescription or illicit opioid.2 By keeping unused pain medicine out of the wrong hands, National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is an important way to help prevent opioid addiction and overdose.

You can help protect your community and save a life by turning in your expired and unused prescriptions for safe disposal on October 26th

Americans turned in more than 900,000 pounds3 of unused or expired prescription medication at the last Take Back event! This brings the total amount of prescription drugs collected by DEA since the fall of 2001 to over 11 million pounds!3 Join the action by finding a collection site in your local community.

Find a local Drug Take Back collection site here.

Learn more by downloading the DEA’s Drug Take Back pamphlets, available in English and Spanish.


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Spanish

Quest is a proud supporter of Prescription Drug Take Back Day—and we work hard every day to help doctors keep patients safe from drug misuse

Quest’s Drug Monitoring program helps doctors protect your health, and is a valuable tool in the fight against opioid misuse

In Quest’s Drug monitoring program, doctors use periodic urine drug testing to:

  • Monitor how treatment is going
  • Help patients safely manage pain therapy according to government guidelines
  • Detect other dangerous drugs (such as pain medicines that weren’t prescribed, and drugs of misuse like cocaine or methamphetamines)

For more information, visit QuestDrugMonitoring.com

References
 

  1. DEA. Take back day. Accessed September 26, 2019. https://takebackday.dea.gov/
  2. CDC. Opioid Overdose. May 20, 2019. Accessed September 26, 2019. https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/
  3. DEA Diversion Control Division. 17th National Take Back Day. April 27, 2019. Accessed September 26, 2019. https://takebackday.dea.gov/sites/default/files/NTBI%2017%20Totals-April2019.pdf