Opioid Abuse Targeted On Prescription Drug Turn-In Day This Weekend
CHICAGO (CBS)--As the U.S. continues battling the opioid crisis, public agencies all over America on Saturday will give people a chance to rid their homes of unneeded drugs that sit in their medicine cabinets.
The Cook County Sheriff's office is one of thousands of police agencies across the country partnering with the DEA's National Prescription Drug Take Back Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 27.
According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 6 million Americans misused controlled prescription drugs in 2017. The study shows a majority of abused prescription drugs were obtained from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet.
The DEA's Chicago field office and Chicago police district stations are among dozens of other police agencies in Illinois that will be accepting drugs on Saturday.
Next week, all the discarded prescriptions will be transported to the DEA for eventual destruction, according to the Cook County Sheriff's office.
National Prescription Drug Take Back Day gives the public a free and anonymous way to rid their homes of prescriptions they no longer need.
The drop-off sites will not accept syringes.
A map of drug drop-off sites is available on the Cook County Sheriff's website.