New guidelines released by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will give consumers more ways to safely and conveniently dispose of prescription drugs, said Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller.
The DEA recently announced its Final Rule for the Disposal of Controlled Substances to aid in the implementation of the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, which was created to expand the public’s options to dispose of unused or unwanted medications.
As co-chair of the Indiana Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Task Force, Zoeller said these long-awaited guidelines are critical in the fight against rising controlled substance abuse, an epidemic plaguing more people in the U.S. than cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens and inhalants combined.
“Prescription drug abuse is so rampant largely because these medications are easy to access,” Zoeller said. “It is all too common for families to leave unused and unwanted prescription drugs in their home medicine cabinets or toss them in the trash, readily available to potential abusers. Part of the problem is a lack of knowledge about the importance of properly disposing of these medications and how to do so safely.”
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