(WXYZ) — The Drug Enforcement Administration's National Take Back Day is returning this weekend to help prevent prescription drug misuse.
Darlene Owens, VP of Treatment at Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries' (DRMM) Christian Guidance Center, says it's important.
"It actually takes a pill off the street," said Owens. "It's something that we believe in. We take our unused drugs and we drop them off."
DRMM’s center provides recovery housing, re-entry and substance use treatment.
"Our thing is to give them a safe landing and the treatment that they need,” said Owens.
According to the CDC nearly 87,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2024. That's why Owens says what might seem small, getting rid of unneeded or experied medications, could mean life or death.
According to the DEA, this will be the 28th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. It will take place Saturday, April 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with thousands of collection sites across the U.S.
"This most definitely saves lives. We make sure that these medicines, usually for legitimate medical reasons, don't get in the hands of our communities that don't need it or are going to divert these controlled substances in an illegitimate way," said Martin Redd, Diversion Program Manager for the DEA's Detroit Field Division.
The DEA and its partners will accept tablets, capsules, patches, and other solid forms of prescription drugs. Liquids, such as cough syrups, must remain tightly sealed in their original containers. They will also accept vaping devices and cartridges if lithium batteries are removed.
You can find a location near you by visiting the DEA's website.
Some locations in metro Detroit include:
- Allen Park Police Department
- Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office - State 1
- Saint Francis Church in Ann Arbor
- Pittsfield Township Senior Center
- Berkley Public Safety
- Bloomfield Hills Department of Public Safety
- Bloomfield Township Police Department
- Brownstown Township Police Department
- Michigan State Police Brighton Post
- Canton Police Department
- Center Line Public Safety Department
- Oakland County Sheriff's Office substations in Independece, Commerce Highland, Orion, Pontiac, Rochester Hills,
- Clay Township Police Department
- Macomb College Police at Center Campus
- Detroit Police Department precincts
- Wayne State University
