Medication Take Back Services
The source of misused opioid medications is often the home medicine cabinets of family and friends. Durham County Department of Public Health partners with Alliance Health, Insight Human Services, Together for Resilient Youth (TRY), and the Durham Sheriff’s Office to participate in National Take Back Day twice annually. At these events, you can safely dispose of any unwanted, unused, or expired medications. There are also permanent drop boxes in several Durham locations where you can dispose of medications at any time.
To find upcoming medication take back events or the location of permanent drop boxes, go to Operation Medicine Drop. For more information, call 919-560-7765 or email drosser@dconc.gov.
Unintentional poisoning
In 2017, unintentional poisoning became the leading cause of injury death to North Carolinians, surpassing motor vehicle deaths.
- According to the 2020 Community Health Assessment, unintentional poisonings accounted for the most injury deaths - nearly one in four - in Durham County from 2017 to 2019.
- Prescription medications and illegal drugs are the cause of most unintentional poisonings, which includes opioid overdose.
Child poisoning
Medications are also the leading cause of child poisoning today.
- Each year, more than 500,000 children in the United States under the age of five experience a potential poisoning related to medications.
- Nationally, more than 60,000 children are treated in emergency departments due to accidental unsupervised ingestions each year.
Misused prescription medications
According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), in 2019:
- 9.7 million people misused prescription pain relievers
- 4.9 million misused stimulants
- 5.9 million misused tranquilizers
Most often, the source of the misused prescription medications is the home medicine cabinets of family and friends.
National Take Back Day
Durham County Department of Public Health partners with Alliance Health, Insight Human Services, Together for Resilient Youth (TRY), Senior PharmAssist, and the Durham Sheriff’s Office to participate in National Take Back Day twice annually. The purpose is to raise awareness and rid homes of unwanted and expired medications sitting in medicine cabinets, nightstands, purses, and kitchen cabinets. These medications have the potential for misuse by family members, friends, or visitors. Take back events provide us with an opportunity to help prevent accidental poisonings, medication misuse, and overdose deaths. They may even be better for the environment.
National Take Back Day occurs in April and October each year. At these events, you can safely dispose of any unwanted, unused, or expired medications. There are also permanent drop boxes in several Durham locations where you can dispose of medications at any time.
To find upcoming medication take back events or the location of permanent drop boxes, go to Operation Medicine Drop.
For Additional Information
Call 919-560-7765 or email drosser@dconc.gov.