New DEA Regulation to Allow for Increased Drug Take-Back Efforts
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hatchapong/iStockphoto/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — Attorney General Eric Holder called prescription drug addiction an “urgent and growing threat” to public health during the announcement of a new Drug Enforcement Agency regulation that would allow increased drug take-back efforts.
The policy, announced on Monday, would allow pharmacies, hospitals, clinics and other authorized collectors to serve as drop-off sites for unused prescription drugs. In 2011 alone, over 50 percent of the 41,300 unintentional drug overdose deaths in the U.S. were linked to prescription drugs.
“These shocking statistics illustrate that prescription drug addiction and abuse represent nothing less than a public health crisis,” Holder said in a video posted to the Justice Department’s website.
In April, the DEA held a take-back event that brought in over 390 tons of prescription drugs that had gone unused. Over the last four years, such events have allowed the DEA and other participating organizations to take back over 4.1 million pounds of prescription pills.
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