This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utahns with leftover prescription medication can dispose of their drugs Saturday at various locations across the state.
Saturday's collection is part of the National Take Back Initiative, an annual event sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Administration to encourage people to get rid of their medication properly.
The move is an effort to combat the high rate of prescription drug overdoses: In Utah, 362 people died this way in 2014.
The state ranks fourth in the nation for drug overdose deaths, according to the department.
Angela Stander, prescription drug overdose coordinator for the state Department of Health, said in a news release that only 27 percent of Utahns with leftover medication reported disposing of it properly in the past year.
"When improperly stored or disposed of, leftover medications can be dangerous," Stander said.
Jenny Johnson, department spokeswoman, said no information is exchanged at these collection sites.
"People don't need to worry about people scrutinizing what they're doing; they just hand the bag of pills over," Johnson said.
Johnson said the DEA collects all the drugs dropped off across the U.S. and usually incinerates them. Last year, more than 700,000 pounds of medication was collected at more than 5,000 sites across the country. Johnson was not sure how much was collected in Utah during that time period.
The number of prescription drug overdoses historically has been higher than deaths from all other kinds of drugs, including heroin and cocaine. Most deaths have been ruled accidental, with the three top drugs oxycodone, methadone and hydrocodone.
Nationally, drug overdose deaths are climbing. In 2014, more than 47,000 people died, a 137 percent increase in the number of deaths from opioid painkillers and heroin from 2000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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