April 22nd is DEA Take Back Day

The United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has declared Saturday, April 22nd as the 24th National Take Back Day.  Take Back Day is a campaign to encourage people to safely dispose of unneeded medication.  

“Too often, unused and expired prescription drugs find their way into the wrong hands, which is dangerous and can be tragic,” stated Hillsborough Township Police Chief Mike McMahon.

The DEA began its Take Back Day initiative in September 2010.  At inception, the initiative was two-fold, to minimize water pollution by avoiding flushing drugs into the sewer system and providing a safe, anonymous means of disposing of unneeded or expired medications.  

"This is an important initiative and it should be noted that Hillsborough Township has a receptacle in the Police Department Lobby for medicine drop off all throughout the year," commented Committeeman Doug Tomson, Liaison to Public Safety.

The drop-off container will be at the Hillsborough Township Police Department, located in the Hillsborough Municipal Building.  The program will run from 10 am until 2 pm.  Drop-off is confidential and anonymous.

Since the program was launched, its focus has shifted more to preventing drug overdose and misuse and providing resources for the treatment of substance abuse disorders.  During the 23rd National Take Back Day in October 2022, 231 law enforcement agencies across the state participated in collecting medications, and there were 4,902 collection sites across the country. The collection netted 324 tons of medications.  Generally, there are two take-back days a year, in April and October.

For additional information, please visit dea.gov/takebackday.

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