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, the following collection sites will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday:

Mahoning County: Austintown Police Department, Beaver Police Department, Boardman Police Department, Canfield Police Department, Milton Township Police Department, New Middletown Police Department, Springfield Township Police Department, Youngstown State University Police Department,

Trumbull County: Bazetta Township Police Department, Hubbard (City) Police Department.

Columbiana County: Columbiana County Drug Task Force at East Liverpool Hospital, CCDTF at Salem Regional Medical Center Professional Services Building (across from Salem Regional Medical Center).

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?