On Saturday, April 24, 2021 the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is sponsoring the 20th nationwide “Prescription Drug Take Back” initiative.  The “Take Back” initiative seeks to prevent prescription drug abuse and theft through proper disposal of prescription drugs. Greene County General Hospital, in partnership with the Greene County Sheriff’s Department, is participating and unwanted medications may be dropped off at the hospital on Saturday, April 24, 2021, between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.  Follow the signs to the main lobby entrance, pull up, and deputies and hospital staff will be happy to remove and dispose of the medications.

Collection sites will be set up nationwide for expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs which will be properly disposed of without threat to the environment.  This program is for liquid and pill medications.  Vaping pens without batteries and vaping cartridges will also be taken.  Needles, new or used, WILL NOT be accepted for disposal.  This service is free and anonymous with no questions asked.

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue.  Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.  Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.

In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—pose both potential safety and health hazards.

The Drug Take Back events are the safe, popular and responsible way for the public to legally dispose of prescription drugs with no questions asked.