The Federal Employee Prescription Drug Take Back Day is Back! On Wednesday, April 24, 2024, federal employees and contractors can safely, confidentially and conveniently dispose of unwanted, unused or expired prescription drugs. By participating in Federal Employee Prescription Drug Take Back Day, you can help free your home from a dangerous hazard -- prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs that can be misused.
If you are a federal employee or contractor, bring your unwanted, unused or expired prescription and OTC drugs to one of the following convenient locations from 10am until 2pm on April 24.
Drop off locations:
- Bethesda Main Campus – Lot 10-H (just south of Building 10 South Lobby – where food trucks are typically located)
- NIDA Headquarters - 11601 Landsdown St, Rockville, MD 20852 Lobby
- NCI Shady Grove, 9609 Medical Center Drive, First Floor Lobby
- Baltimore – Biomedical Research Center (BRC), 251 Bayview Boulevard, Lobby Area and Room 02A500 (Pharmacy)
For those employees and contractors unable to take advantage of Wednesday's event or not located in the Washington, DC/Baltimore region, National Prescription Drug Take Back events are scheduled on April 27 at collection sites throughout the United States. To find the closest collection site on April 27, visit the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and select, “Locate a Collection Site Near You."
Please note: Collection sites will not accept "sharps," syringes/needles or scalpels. Liquid products, such as cough syrup, should remain sealed in their original container. Vape pens or other e-cigarette devices will be accepted only after the batteries are removed from the devices.
Prescription medications, including pain relievers, can alleviate suffering and help restore quality of life for many patients. Yet those medications can also pose a risk for misuse when not taken as prescribed, or by the intended individual. Prescription drug misuse of opioids, benzodiazepines, ADHD medications and other drugs have become an urgent public health problem, affecting both youth and adults and contributing to marked increases in poisoning-related deaths and emergency room visits. We know easy access to medications can contribute to this issue. Data show that 45% of people who misused prescription pain relievers in the past year get them from friends and family members.
We encourage you to take part in this effort to reduce the public health threat posed by prescription and OTC drug misuse in this country, and to begin by looking in your own medicine cabinet.
Thank you in advance,
Your colleagues at the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Office of Research Services, co-sponsors of the Federal Employee Prescription Drug Take Back Day at NIH
