I must remind you all seniors to please take a night off sorting your medicine cabinets—if you haven’t done that already—as the 2nd National Drug Take-Back Day will be held Saturday, April 30, 2011. It is a nationwide effort of the government to prevent prescription drug abuse and theft. Sites are scattered all over the nation and will be open from 10am to 2pm. Make sure you bring all those excess pills and drugs you have at home, expired and otherwise.

Last year’s National Drug Take-Back Day was a huge hit—especially for us seniors who are more or less, clueless of what to do with expired meds sitting inside our medicine cabinets. They aim to collect unused, unwanted and expired prescription drugs which can pose a threat to owners and their families if left untouched or if not properly disposed. And no, you don’t just dump them into waste baskets or flush down the drain because if it is safe for you to do that, there wouldn’t be Safe and Secure Drug Disposal Act of 2010.

However, if you missed the National Drug Take-Back Day this year, you can still check out sites which will accept your unused medications. There are designated sites you can find locally by checking DEA’s website and the sites are updated daily for our convenience. Click here to find local sites near you:  Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) website.

Misuse and abuse of unused drugs left inside our homes were the reasons why National Drug Take-Back Day was initiated. Prescription drugs abuse is alarmingly rampant in America and the government is moving towards fighting and altogether eliminating it. Furthermore, studies showed that most of abused drugs were acquired from family and friends who are legitimately using them to treat health conditions—so now you have just solved the mystery of your missing prescription pills!

Again, throwing them away or flushing them down the toilet is not the proper way to get rid of your unwanted drugs. They should be handled properly, like you would handle a potentially deadly substance. Although some drugs are safe enough to be flushed, please don’t unless the label said so. For those areas not yet covered by drug take-back programs, you can simply follow steps written in this PDF: Proper Disposal of Prescription Drugs:  Federal Guidelines