Today’s issue of WorkCompRecap features the DEA’s announcement that its 23rd National Prescription Drug Take Back Day will occur across the country tomorrow, October 28th. The event offers anonymous disposal of unneeded medications at more than 4,000 local drop-off locations nationwide.
The DEA noted that opioid misuse remains at epidemic levels in the United States, and according to a report published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a majority of people who misused a prescription medication obtained the medicine from a family member or friend. Additionally the CDC estimates that approximately 107,622 people in the US died as the result of a drug poisoning last year, which translates to a death every five minutes.