Drug Take Back Day yields heaps of unneeded prescriptions with goal to save lives

BALTIMORE -- The old medication lying around your home can be harmful if it gets into the wrong hands.

Take advantage of Drug Take Back Day to clean out your home and save lives. 

Opioids are the top cause of unintentional deaths in Maryland. From January to June of 2023, there were 1,102 unintentional opioid-related deaths, according to health department data.

Opioid addictions often start by having access to prescription medications.

Drug Take Back Day data shows that in 45 percent of cases where pain relievers were misused, they originally came from a friend or a family member.

The goal of the take-back day is to clear the medicine cabinet properly and avoid flushing them down the toilet.

Last fall, Johns Hopkins collected over 800 pounds of medications at its seven drop-off locations.

Clinical Pharmacy Specialist at the Johns Hopkins Hospital Suzanne Nesbit said you would be surprised by how long some of these medications are inside homes.

"We've gotten medication bottles that were dated 1984 or even earlier that people have just kept around in their kitchen, their bathroom, et. cetera," Nesbit said. 

The DEA collected more than 10,000 pounds of unneeded prescriptions across Maryland in October of 2023.

These numbers tell Nesbit that more opportunities like Drug Take Back Day are needed year-round.

"Two days a year that the DEA sponsors it, is important," she said. "But here at Johns Hopkins sites we have med safe bins that are available all the time that people can come up and just dispose of them comfortably. No questions asked."

If you have any unwanted medications, collect them and drop them off at a location near you. You can type your zip code into this DEA database to find your nearest location.