Senators Collins, King Announce Maine Locations for 2021 Drug Take-Back Day
Washington, D.C. – Ahead of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day this Saturday, October 23rd, U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME) announced the locations of the Maine collection sites.
“Unused prescription drugs that collect in our homes can fall into the wrong hands, creating unintended gateways to opioid addiction, particularly as we continue to combat the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” said Senators Collins and King in a joint statement. “Maine is one of the top 10 states that have disposed the most prescriptions through the DEA’s Drug Take-Back Program, and we are confident that our state will continue to lead efforts to stop the misuse of unused drugs that pose a serious threat to our children, our homes, and our environment.”
National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications. In 2020, the collection sites began accepting vaping devices and associated substances.
At a previous Take-Back Event in April 2021, federal, state, and local government entities took back more than 839,000 pounds of unused, expired, or unwanted drugs at more than 5,000 locations across the United States. Over the course of the program, more than 14.5 million pounds of prescription drugs have been safely collected across the country, including nearly 480,000 pounds of medication in Maine alone.
Federal regulations allow pharmacies, hospitals, clinics, and other authorized collectors to serve as collection points for unused prescription medication. In 2014, following a bipartisan effort led by Senators Collins and 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.
In 2018, a sweeping opioids package known as the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act was signed into law. Senator Collins, a member of the Senate Health Committee, authored two provisions included in the final legislation that will help to ensure that unused prescription drugs do not fall into the wrong hands and to bolster peer support networks for long-term recovery. The legislation also included provisions championed by Senator Collins and Senator King to expand opioid treatment capabilities, including a permanent authorization for nurse practitioners and physicians assistants to provide medication-assisted treatment and removing an arbitrary limit to allow residential treatment facilities to expand their efforts to save lives.
Click HERE for the complete list of locations.
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