The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration calls our country’s substance abuse epidemic “a clear and present public health, public safety and national security threat.” No one needs to tell those living in our region that. We see it every day. And most of us wonder whether there is anything WE can do about it.

There is. Among the ways we can combat the problem is taking advantage of National Prescription Drug Take Back Day to remove unneeded medications from our homes, preventing the possibility they might fall into someone else’s hands.

The DEA calls it a “measure of preventing medication misuse and opioid addiction from ever starting.”

In our region, a collection site will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Kroger in Hollywood Plaza in Steubenville. Collections also will be available at East Liverpool Hospital, the Kroger Pharmacy on Mount Dechantal Road in Wheeling, the Riesbeck’s stores in Bridgeport and St. Clairsville, and the Sam’s Club in St. Clairsville.

Often, local law enforcement agencies, such as the Weirton Police Department, will provide a collection site at their offices throughout the year.

While the DEA reminds those who are prescribed medications to keep them safe while they are being properly used, once those medications are no longer needed or have expired, it’s time to “Clean them out. Take them back.”

At the Take Back Day collection sites, medications can be properly disposed of — anonymously. And, during the October 2024 Take Back Day, approximately 314 tons of medications were collected nationwide. That’s quite a load off the minds of those who know they did the right thing by getting those prescription medications out of their cabinets and drawers and into the right hands.

It’s spring cleaning time anyway, why not take the extra step?