Benefits of Drug Take-Back Programs

Drug Take-Back programs at pharmacies offer community members the opportunity to properly dispose of prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications.

Disposal of these substances offer three key benefits:

  • Helping to prevent prescription drug abuse
  • Reducing risk of accidental poisoning
  • Decreasing environmental hazards including water contamination due to medications

Take-Back Programs Can Make a Difference

Poisoning is the leading cause of injury death in the United States, drug poisoning cause the majority of those deaths. In 2015, there were more than 47,000 deaths due to unintentional poisonings according to the CDC. Of the top 10 drugs in overdose deaths from 2010-2014, eight are prescription medications, including oxycodone, morphine, diazepam and alprazolam.

Proper disposal of medications that are no longer needed greatly reduce the risk of accidental poisoning at home. Disposing of both prescription and over-the-counter drugs helps keep medications away from children who may accidentally consume them and reduce the risk of taking the wrong medication.

Not all community members will want to go out of their way to a law enforcement location on the day or two each year that the DEA offers Take-Back Day. However, if their local pharmacy offers a visible program to its customers, they will be more likely to bring their medications in on their next visit to have them disposed of properly.

Take-Back Programs are Easy for Pharmacies to Offer

Pharmacies can offer these take-back programs to their customers as a value-added service and can encourage foot traffic into their locations.

Pharma Logistics’ Drug Take-Back Program offers pharmacies options for reorder preferences based on material volumes expected or the frequency of returns. Pharmacy Take-Back Program kits include: shipping container with a prepaid label, DEA-approved disposal liner and serialized zip tag. Pharmacies may send their disposals back at any time.

Contact us to get started with a drug take-back program at your pharmacy.