A joint effort involving the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the North Carolina National Guard resulted in the collection of 15,700 pounds of unused prescription medications as part of Operation Medicine Drop’s Fall Take Back Event and the DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.
That’s approximately 11.8 million dosage units thanks to the citizens of North Carolina who continue to fill drop boxes at pharmacies, hospitals, clinics, police departments, and sheriff’s offices statewide with unused or expired medications. On Oct. 30, 2024, the collected medications were safely and properly destroyed at an approved incinerator in Virginia.
OMD is a partnership between Safe Kids North Carolina, the DEA, the North Carolina Department of Justice, the North Carolina Department of Insurance, the NCNG Counterdrug Task Force, the SBI, and law enforcement agencies across the state. Since 2013, OMD has collected approximately 363.7 million prescription pills.