WASHINGTON - Attorney General Eric Holder announced an expansion of a prescription drug return program Monday that would allow hospitals, pharmacies and other entities to accept excess drugs, including opioid pain relievers that have contributed to thousands of overdose deaths.
'Prescription drug misuse and abuse is an urgent - and growing - threat to our nation and its citizens,'' Holder said in a video message on the Justice Department's website, citing a 2013 survey showing that an estimated 6.5 million people ages 12 and older are 'current non-medical users of prescription drugs.''
'As recently as 2011, more than half of the 41,300 unintentional drug overdose deaths in the United States involved prescription drugs - and opioid pain relievers were involved in nearly 17,000 of those deaths,'' he said. 'Nearly 110 Americans died every day that year from drug overdoses.
'These shocking statistics illustrate that prescription drug addiction and abuse represent nothing less than a public health crisis. And every day, this crisis touches - and devastates - the lives of Americans from every state, in every region, and from every background and walk of life.''
The policy announced Monday is an extension of a 'take-back'' program launched by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Last April, 390 tons of prescription drugs were collected at about 6,100 sites. During the past four years, the DEA has reported the return of more than 4.1 million pounds. It's next return drive has been scheduled for Sept. 27.
Hydrocodone pills at a pharmacy.(Photo: Toby Talbot, AP)
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Posted by Unknown on Monday, September 8, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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