Americans Turn in 276 Tons of Unwanted Medicines

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans turned over 552,161 pounds, or 276 tons, of unwanted medicines to be disposed of by the Drug Enforcement Administration last week. That from the DEA.

The agency's fourth National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day was on April 28. The program is an attempt to prevent old medicine from falling into unauthorized hands and to keep it from being thrown away and polluting water supplies. The 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that more Americans abuse prescription drugs than the number of those using cocaine, hallucinogens and heroin combined.

The agency has been doing National Prescription Drug Take-Back day since September 2010 and has removed over 1.5 million pounds or 774 tons of medication from circulation.