Interim Healthcare and Hospice and the Saline County Sheriff’s Department will be collecting expired, unwanted or unused drugs during a DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) Drug Take Back Day later this month.

The Drug Take-Back Day is meant to collect and safely destroy medications.

Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates opioid overdoses kill 130 Americans every day. According to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, pharmaceutical opioids are a leading cause of drug poisoning deaths in Kansas.

Studies show a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that traditional methods for disposing of unused medicines – flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash – pose potential safety and health hazards and should be avoided.

The drug take back event is scheduled at the Salina Senior Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 30. Drop off your unwanted medicine anonymously knowing the drugs will be disposed of safely.

Kansans have safely destroyed a total of 221,914 pounds of medications in the 20 collection days that have been held since 2010. Law enforcement agencies turn the drugs they collect over to the DEA, which safely destroys the medications.

Unused prescriptions can be turned in year-round at many local law enforcement locations as well as a limited number of other locations. Kansans should contact their local sheriff’s office or police department for more information.