WASHINGTON, D.C. — Ahead of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency’s National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day this Saturday, U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced the locations of the Maine collection sites. Click HERE for locations.

The National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications. At the previous Take-Back event on April 30, 2016, federal, state, and local government entities took back a record 893,498 pounds of unused, expired, or unwanted drugs at nearly 5,400 collection locations across the country, including almost 16 tons of unwanted medications in Maine alone.

“Addiction to prescription opioids and heroin has become a tragic epidemic that threatens the health and safety of communities across our state,” Senators Collins and King said in a joint statement. “Unused prescription drugs collecting in our homes are serious health and safety hazards, and can provide unsuspected gateways to addiction. Following a record collection earlier this year, we are confident that Mainers will continue to lead efforts to protect their children, their homes, and our environment from the abuse and improper handling of unused prescription drugs by participating in this program.”

Federal regulations allow pharmacies, hospitals, clinics, and other authorized collectors to serve as collection points for unused prescription medication. In 2014, following a consistent bipartisan effort led by Senator Collins and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), the Department of Justice granted the Departments of Defense (DoD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) the ability to participate in prescription drug take-back programs at DoD and VA facilities. This initiative has helped to address the role of prescription drug abuse in many military and veteran suicides.

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