Washington Residents Use Medicine Take-Back Programs
Over 251,000 pounds of unwanted medicines have been returned and safely destroyed since 2006!
At the DEA National Prescription Take-Back Day on April 27, 2013, in just 4 hours, 14,992 pounds (7.4 tons) of unwanted medicines were collected statewide by DEA and law enforcement. Washington has 281 cities and towns, yet we had just 90 collection sites during the DEA Take-back Day due to limited resources of local law enforcement to participate.
Ongoing take-back programs are collecting large quantities of unwanted medicines. Group Health Cooperative collects 600-700 pounds of unwanted medicines every two weeks! And local law enforcement and retail pharmacies are collecting hundreds to thousands of pounds of unwanted medicines in their communities each year.
Imagine the amount of drugs that could be safely collected for proper disposal if every community had an ongoing drop-off program.
Here is a sampling of the pounds of unwanted medicines being
returned by some take-back programs in Washington.
Bartell Drugs |
= | 36,823 |
| Pharmacies – 24 locations, Mar 2008 – Dec 2012 | ||
| King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties | ||
Clallam County |
= | 9,280 |
| Law Enforcement and Pharmacies – 3 locations, Jul 2009 – Dec 2012 | ||
Clark County |
= | 27,145 |
| Law Enforcement and Pharmacies – 22 locations, Nov 2003 – Dec 2012 | ||
Cowlitz County |
= | 609 |
| Law Enforcement and Pharmacies – 5 locations, Sep 2009 – Oct 2011 | ||
DEA take-back day in WA |
= | 8,931 |
| Local Law Enforcement – 93 locations, 4 hours – Sep 25, 2010 | ||
DEA take-back day in WA |
= | 8,535 |
| Local Law Enforcement – 85 locations, 4 hours – Apr 30, 2011 | ||
DEA take-back day in WA |
= | 9,502 |
| Local Law Enforcement – 100 locations, 4 hours – Oct 29, 2011 | ||
DEA take-back day in WA |
= | 13,426 |
| Local Law Enforcement – 97 locations, 4 hours – Apr 28,2012 | ||
DEA take-back day in WA |
= | 13,057 |
| Local Law Enforcement – 82 locations, 4 hours – Sep 29, 2012 | ||
DEA take-back day in WA |
= | 14,992 |
|---|---|---|
| Local Law Enforcement – 90 locations, 4 hours – Apr 27, 2013 | ||
Grant County |
= | 400 |
| Law Enforcement and Pharmacies – 2 locations, Mar 2011 – Dec 2012 | ||
Group Health Cooperative |
= | 84,349 |
| Pharmacies – 25 locations in 5 counties from Oct 2006 – Dec 2012 | ||
| King, Kitsap, Pierce, Snohomish, Spokane and Thurston Counties | ||
Jefferson County |
= | 479 |
| Law Enforcement – 2 locations Jan 2012 – Dec 2012 | ||
King County |
= | 3,083 |
| Law Enforcement – 11 locations, Jan 2009 – Oct 2012 | ||
Kitsap County |
= | 381 |
| Law Enforcement and Pharmacies – 4 locations, Sep 2010 – Oct 2012 | ||
Lewis County |
= | 249 |
| Law Enforcement – 5 locations, Nov 2010 – Jun 2011 | ||
Mason County |
= | 560 |
| Law Enforcement – 2 locations, Oct 2010 – Sep 2011 | ||
Pacific County |
= | 35 |
| Pharmacies – 3 locations, Apr 2011 – Nov 2011 | ||
Pierce County |
= | 7,622 |
| Law Enforcement – 19 locations, Sep 2008 – Dec 2012 | ||
San Juan County |
= | 782 |
| Law Enforcement and Pharmacies – 6 locations, Feb 2011 – Oct 2011 | ||
Skagit County |
= | 170 |
| Law Enforcement – 6 locations, May 2011 – Aug 2011 | ||
Snohomish County Partnership for Secure Medicine Disposal |
= | 12,989 |
| Law Enforcement – 27 locations, Mar 2008 – Oct 2012 | ||
Thurston County |
= | 10,659 |
| Law Enforcement – 6 locations, Jan 2010 – Dec 2012 | ||
Whatcom County |
= | 2,697 |
| Law Enforcement and Pharmacies – 7 locations, Apr 2010 – Dec 2012 | ||
Whitman County |
= | 102 |
| Law Enforcement – 1 location, Jun 2010 – Oct 2011 |