DGMC takes back unused drugs Saturday

  • Published
  • By Merrie Schilter-Lowe
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – An estimated 64,000 people died in 2016 of a drug overdose, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.  Nearly 22,000 people died in 2010 from prescription drugs obtained, usually by theft, from family and friends.

Saturday is National Drug Take-Back Day and the David Grant U.S. Air Force Medical Center at Travis Air Force Base, California, will join local law enforcement agencies in taking back unused, unwanted and expired medications. 

People with base access can take prescription medications and unused supplements to the pharmacy in the base exchange mini mall from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.   The disposal service is free and anonymous with no questions asked. 

The three classes of drugs most often abused include opioids, used to treat pain; central nervous system depressants such as Xanax and Ativan, used to treat anxiety and sleep disorders; and stimulants such as Ritalin and Adderall, used to treat attention-deficit disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, according to the NIDA.

This year marks the 14th anniversary of the national drug take-back campaign, sponsored by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. 

In April, the DEA and state and local law enforcement agencies collected nearly 450 tons, or 900,000 pounds, of prescription drugs.  Since the start of the drug take-back campaign, more than 8.1 million pounds of pills have been collected in the United States.