Communities Across the Country Collect Nearly 664,000 Pounds of Unneeded Prescription Medications 

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and its law enforcement partners came together April 22 to protect communities from prescription misuse by safely disposing of 663,725 pounds of unneeded medications at nearly 5,000 collection sites across the country.

DEA St. Louis Division collected more than 35,000 pounds of drugs in 238 collection sites in the states of Missouri and Kansas, as well as southern Illinois. State-by-state results are:

Since its inception in 2010, DEA’s bi-annual National Prescription Take Back Day has removed more than 17 million pounds of unnecessary medications from communities across the country.

Take Back Day helps Americans easily rid their homes of unneeded medications – those that are old, unwanted, or expired. These medications can be a gateway to addiction, and have helped fuel the opioid epidemic.

DEA continues to expand opportunities to make safe disposal of medications more accessible nationwide. A list of permanent drug drop boxes located in communities across the country can be found here. For south Kansas City, it includes:

• Prime Healthcare Services, 1000 Carondelet Dr.
• CVS, 11729 Roe, Leawood
• CVS, 12000 S. 71 Hwy, Grandview
• CVS, 409 E North Ave., Belton
• HyVee, 1307 E. North Ave., Belton

Complete results for DEA’s spring National Prescription Drug Take Back Day are available at Take Back Day (dea.gov).