May 14, 2025:
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and its partner agencies collected and safely disposed of over 20,000 pounds of unused medications from South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and North Dakota during last month’s (April 26, 2025) National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.
Emily Murray with the DEA’s Omaha Division breaks down the weight of the medications collected, starting with South Dakota.
Whether dropped off during one of the annual spring or fall Take Back Days or dropped off at unused medication drop boxes that are available at pharmacies and law enforcement agencies year-round, Murray says proper disposal of prescriptions meds is important.
Murray says the collection events wouldn’t be as successful as they are without the partnership of law enforcement agencies around the country.
Since it began 16 years ago, DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day has helped Americans properly dispose of nearly 19.8 million pounds of medications. Of that total, the five-states in the Omaha Division have collected 688,426 pounds. The Take Back Day on April 26, marked the DEA Omaha Division’s highest Spring collection since 2021, when 37,355 pounds were removed.
If you want to clean your medicine cabinet out on a routine basis, safe disposal options are available year-round. To find a year-round drop off location, visit the Every Day is Take Back Day website.
April 25, 2025:
If you have prescription medications that you’d like to get rid of, you can drop them off Saturday (April 26, 2025) as part of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.
Emily Murray is the Public Information Officer for the DEA’s Omaha Division, which includes South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and North Dakota. She says DEA coordinates with more than 4400 law enforcement and community partners, to properly dispose of the medications.
Murray says people can also drop off vape cartridges, but something must be removed from them first.
Since the first National Prescription Drug Take Back Day was held around 16 years ago, Murray says the combined weight of medications collected during the twice-yearly events is equal to roughly 96.77 whales.
The unused prescription medications can be dropped off between 10am-2pm CT. You can find a list of disposal sites located in South Dakota at https://www.dea.gov/takebackday.
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