More than 15 million Americans abuse prescription drugs, many of whom are teens. In fact, some 2,500 kids aged between 12 and 17 abuse a prescription pain reliever for the first time every day. While there are several steps that are needed to remedy that problem, one of the biggest is simply getting those drugs out of homes. To help speed up that process, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) launched a prescription drug take-back program in September of 2010. Today, it has evolved and has become the best option for anyone who is trying to figure out where to dispose of medication properly.

Drug take-backs are a great option because of the growing trend of kids using drugs they find right in the medicine cabinet to get high, rather than buying drugs off the street. Essentially, they allow homeowners or parents to anonymously return medicines that they no longer want to keep in their cabinets, regardless of what they might be. Plus, there are no questions asked to help promote a stress-free environment. After pills or medications are collected, they are disposed of properly so that they will not work their way into the hands of kids looking to experiment.

In order to make medication disposal easy, the original DEA program set up more than 3,400 take-back locations all over the United States. They could take place anywhere from drug stores to schools or government buildings. Now, there are far more locations offering more drop off times. As a result, they have become the easiest and most reliable form of proper pharmaceutical disposal.

As an added bonus, take-back programs are the top choice for where to dispose of medications because they help prevent drugs from harming the environment. One of the less-known but quite troubling littering facts is that antihistamines and other medications pollute water sources and contribute to the disruption of ecosystems in streams, rivers, and even lakes. Flushing drugs down the toilet is a method that many people use, but though it might help keep them away from kids, it could contribute to water pollution. That emphasizes the fact that using take-back programs is the best option for proper medication disposal.

Learning where to dispose of medications safely and efficiently is a challenge for people who want to make sure that the drugs that they don’t plan on taking will not end up being abused, especially by kids. Fortunately, most every town offers take-back programs that make it easy to get rid of drugs and prevent them from becoming a danger in society. Check out this website for more.