BOSTON, (WBZ NewsRadio) Perhaps you've had a tooth pulled in the past few years, or minor surgery. Some antibiotics that you never finished. Old cough syrup sitting in the back of the medicine cabinet.
Federal health officials say it's important you get those un-used meds out of the house, expired or not - and doing so could help save a life.
Saturday, April 27 is the DEA's National Take Back Day, and sites will be set up all around the state to help you dispose of those medicines.
The FDA says it's critical that these unused prescription drugs are removed from your home, as half of the people who misuse prescription pain medicine end up getting them from a family member or friend, usually from the home medicine cabinet. More than 100 Americans die each day from an opioid overdose, with millions still addicted - including many here in New England, where the opioid crisis has hit hard.
Dr. Douglas Throckmorton is the deputy center director for Regulatory Programs at the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. He tells WBZ's Nichole Davis the program "basically empowers people to give them the information they need to make a difference in their home, get rid of these unused medicines, and, in that way, be a part of the solution to the opioid crisis."
You can find your collection site here: https://takebackday.dea.gov/
WBZ NewsRadio's Nichole Davis (@NicholeDavis) reports