National Drug Take Back Day is set for Saturday, Oct. 24

State Office of Drug Control Policy map, last updated Aug. 27, 2020

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is Saturday, Oct. 24. Special locations will be open in most states to make it easy and safe for people to dispose of their expired or unwanted medications, to keep them from falling into the wrong hands or being flushed into sewer systems, where they could cause unwanted effects. Most locations will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

According to the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 9.9 million Americans misused prescription drugs. It found that a majority of abused prescription drugs were obtained from family and friends, often stolen from their home medicine cabinets and thus violating medical privacy.

Kentucky law enforcement agencies and local governments maintain 193 locations in 116 counties, with sites being added daily, according to the state Office of Drug Control Policy. Its list of disposal sites is at https://odcp.ky.gov/Pages/Prescription-Drug-Disposal-Locations.aspx. The federal Drug Enforcement Administration has a searchable database for all U.S. locations at https://takebackday.dea.gov.