SANTA FE, NM - Expired, unwanted or unused prescription drugs can be dropped off for proper disposal at collection sites throughout New Mexico on Saturday, April 29th, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. as part of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s annual National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.
Prescription pills for disposal can be brought to collection sites in dozens of communities in New Mexico staffed by state and local police and county sheriff’s departments. The service is free and anonymous. Visit www.DEA.gov to find the nearest disposal site in your community.
“Prescription drug abuse remains an important public safety and public health issue in New Mexico,” said Department of Health Cabinet Secretary Lynn Gallagher. “National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is a great opportunity to safely get rid of unwanted or unused prescription drugs and make sure they don’t get into the wrong hands.”
New Mexicans at last year’s event turned over more than 5,700 pounds of medication to state, local, and tribal law enforcement partners across New Mexico. Just a few months ago the New Mexico Department of Health announced a seven percent decline in overdose deaths in New Mexico from 2014 to 2015 – while overdose deaths increased nationwide by nearly 11 percent. While this is encouraging news, the Administration will continue fighting to end this epidemic.
Curbing drug overdose deaths has been a major priority for Governor Susana Martinez since 2014 when she allowed state pharmacists to prescribe Naloxone, a medication that reverses opioid-related overdoses, making New Mexico the first in the nation to allow it. There have been many advances since then including:
· Just this month, when Governor Martinez signed into law legislation enabling all law enforcement offices across the state to carry, administer, and distribute Naloxone.
· In February this year, Governor Martinez announced the awarding of a $200,000 grant from the Pfizer Inc. Naloxone Access Program. New Mexico is only one of five states to receive the grant to expand the Department of Health education opportunities for both health care providers and communities statewide.
- Last year saw the Governor expand outpatient treatment programs, remove prior authorization for Suboxone under Medicaid, and work to expand the number of Methadone clinics as well as the number of these clinics that accept Medicaid.
· She also signed legislation in 2016 requiring prescribers and pharmacists check the New Mexico Prescription Monitoring Program database before prescribing opioid pain killers. Knowing the prescription history of patients is helping to reduce the chances controlled substances get into the wrong hands.
For information on prescription drug safety visit: https://nmhealth.org/about/erd/ibeb/pos/. Additional resources are available from the New Mexico Department of Health’s Harm Reduction Program at: https://nmhealth.org/about/phd/idb/hrp/.