El Paso, Texas – On April 22, 2023, DEA and its law enforcement partners came together once again to protect our communities from prescription misuse by safely disposing of 663,725 pounds of unneeded medications at nearly 5,000 collection sites across the country.

Since its inception in 2010, DEA’s bi-annual National Prescription Take Back Day has removed more than 17 million pounds of unnecessary medications from communities across the country.

The 17 counties of West Texas turned in 2,144 pounds while New Mexicans turned in 2,787 pounds. That was 830 pounds more than the October Take Back event in 2022.

For more than a decade, Take Back Day has helped Americans easily rid their homes of unneeded medications—those that are old, unwanted, or expired. These medications can be a gateway to addiction, and have helped fuel the opioid epidemic. 

“Communities across the country again answered the call to rid their homes of unneeded medications to protect loved ones from deadly drugs and drug poisonings,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. “National Prescription Drug Take Back Day continues to protect our communities and create healthier environments by offering safe disposal of medications.”

“Once again the communities of West Texas and New Mexico answered our call,” said Greg Millard, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s El Paso Division. “I can’t thank them enough.”

DEA continues to expand opportunities to make safe disposal of medications more accessible nationwide. A list of permanent drug-drop boxes located in communities across the country can be found here. Safe medication disposal receptacles along with DEA Take Back events provide families easy, no-cost opportunities to get rid of unnecessary medicines stored in the home that can be susceptible to abuse and theft.

Complete results for DEA’s spring National Prescription Drug Take Back Day are available at www.deatakeback.com.