National Drug Take Back Day is Saturday, but drug disposal is ‘year-round need’

While the United States Drug Enforcement Agency’s annual National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is coming up on Saturday, April 27, medicine disposal is considered a "year-round need."

According to a news release from the Pharmaceutical Product Stewardship Work Group (PPSWG), approximately one-third of Americans neglect cleaning out their medicine cabinets each year and one-fifth haven’t cleaned them out in three years despite there being more than 300 drug disposal locations in Missouri.

PPSWG’s website www.MyOldMeds.com provides a nationwide disposal site locator that helps people find drop-off locations.

There are four drop-off sites in Cape Girardeau: the Cape Girardeau Police Department at 2530 Maria Louise Lane, MediCenter Pharmacy at 465 S. Mount Auburn Road, Walgreens at 1 S. Kingshighway and CVS at 2161 William St. Other locations in the Southeast Missourian’s coverage area include the Jackson Police Department at 525 S. Hope St.; Twin City Pharmacy, 106 1st St., in Marble Hill; Advance Pharmacy, 110 N. Oak St., in Advance; the Scott County Sheriff’s Office, 131 S. New Madrid St., in Benton; and Walgreens, 6 S. Perryville Blvd., in Perryville.

According to the DEA’s website, National Drug Take Back Day collection sites include the Jackson Police Department and the Perry County Sheriff’s Office at 710 S Kingshighway in Perryville. Drug disposal sites will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Drug Take Back Day reflects the DEA’s "commitment to Americans’ safety and health, encouraging the public to remove unneeded medications from their homes as a measure of preventing medication misuse and opioid addiction from ever starting."