AFBF Encourages Rural Communities to Participate in National Prescription Drug Take Back Day

AFBF is encouraging rural communities to participate in the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day this Saturday, April 27. Anne Hazlett, senior adviser for rural affairs at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, explained in an exclusive Newsline interview that Saturday provides an opportunity to remove unused opioids from your medicine cabinet.

“This is an event that happens twice a year, where law enforcement teams up with community leaders and provides a disposal location where people can get rid of the unused or expired medications out of their medicine cabinets,” Hazlett said. In 2017, more than 70,000 Americans lost their lives because of a drug overdose and many of those deaths happened as a result of opioids.

“Many of those deaths, sadly, happened in rural America,” Hazlett explained. Further, “When you step back and look at some of the research, we also find that many people who struggle with addiction didn’t get those drugs from a drug dealer. They got them from friends or family that had unused medication lying around in their homes.” Find a take back site near you at deatakeback.com.