The Comprehensive Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Program took aim at one of the unsung drivers of the nation’s substance use epidemic—unused prescription medications that fill American medicine cabinets—by aligning state and local efforts to dispose of drugs with successful federal initiatives such as the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.
Over the course of two grant cycles, in 2021 and 2022, the program enabled 15 sites nationwide (including two return grantees) to purchase drug disposal and collection equipment so they could safely dispose of both prescription medications and controlled substances in compliance with DEA and other federal guidance.
By enlisting local partners such as law enforcement agencies, first responders, service providers, and pharmacies in their efforts, the sites worked to ensure maximum community buy-in and sustainability. The projects feature leadership groups composed of public safety and public health partners dedicated to making safe drug storage and disposal a high public priority, as well as public education campaigns designed to raise community awareness of their efforts.
The program was grounded in the reality that the United States is awash with unused and undisposed prescription drugs: At least 40 percent of prescription medications are not completely used and are likely to remain inside the home, where insecure storage poses serious risks to vulnerable populations such as children, adolescents, and individuals with substance use disorders.
In the face of this challenge, drug take-back programs have emerged as an effective strategy for safe disposal. DEA launched National Prescription Drug Take Back Day in 2010 to engage Americans actively in the safe disposal of prescription medications with the support of both public safety and public health agencies. Since then, the program has collected more than 16.6 million pounds of expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs.
The drug disposal and demonstration program began July 1, 2022, and all sites concluded their activities by February 28, 2023.
EMPOWERING PUBLIC SAFETY AND PUBLIC HEALTH PARTNERS IN CITIES AND STATES ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO SAFELY DISPOSE OF PRESCRIPTION MEDICATIONS AND CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES
COSSAP Drug Disposal Grantees Collect More Than 57,000 Pounds of Medication on National Take Back Day
The nine grantees of COSSAP’s Comprehensive Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Program collected and disposed of 57,438 pounds of medication on National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, October 29, 2022, leveraging partnerships between law enforcement agencies and their communities to take millions of pills out of American homes so that they cannot be diverted for harmful purposes.
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BJA Awards Nearly $700,000 To Launch Drug Disposal Program In Selected States
The sites will receive funding under eight micro-grants awarded through a primary grant to the Institute for Intergovernmental Research. Each of the micro-grants will allow the sites to purchase dozens of drop boxes and tens of thousands of at-home disposal pouches, then work with local law enforcement agencies following DEA guidance to oversee the safe collection and destruction of both prescription medications and controlled substances.
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COSSAP Drug Disposal Program Tackles Hidden Driver of Substance Abuse
COSSAP is taking direct aim at one of the unsung drivers of the nation’s substance use epidemic—the mountain of unused prescription medications that fill America’s medicine cabinets—in a new program that will align state and local efforts to dispose of drugs with successful federal initiatives such as the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.
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