~Attorney General Herring reminds Virginians to dispose of unused prescriptions, especially opioids, at one of many drop-off sites across the Commonwealth~

RICHMOND (October 19, 2021) - Attorney General Mark R. Herring is encouraging Virginians to take advantage of Saturday's National Prescription Drug Take Back Day to dispose of unused or expired medications, especially prescription opioids, before they can be misused, abused, or accidentally ingested. Law enforcement agencies, community partners, and members of the Attorney General's team will be stationed at dozens of locations throughout the Commonwealth to accept medications for proper disposal. Takeback locations across the Northern Virginia region, which will be open Saturday, October 23rd from 10am - 2pm, are listed below, and you .

“Drug takeback days are a quick, safe, easy way to dispose of unwanted or expired prescriptions that you may have lying around your house, making our homes, families and communities safer and healthier,” said Attorney General Herring. “Sadly, all too often addiction starts at home in the medicine cabinet when unused prescriptions fall into the hands of someone who could abuse them. I want to encourage all Virginians to take an hour out of their weekend to clean out any old or unused prescriptions and bring them to a drug takeback location near you.”

There is a strong link between misuse of prescription opioids, opioid addiction, and even subsequent use of heroin once prescriptions become too expensive or are no longer accessible. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse:

• Heroin abuse is 19 times more likely among those who abuse prescription opioids
• Half of young people who used heroin got started by abusing prescription opioids
• One in fifteen individuals who misuse prescription opioid painkillers will try heroin within 10 years
• Studies show a link between the availability of prescription and illicit drugs and the likelihood of abuse

In Virginia, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a spike in overdose deaths:

• In 2020, 17.1% of all drug overdose deaths included fentanyl, a 71.7% increase from the year before
• Between January and June 2020, at least 1,086 Virginians died from a drug overdose of either fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, opioids or other drugs, an increase of 39% from the year before

The heroin and prescription opioid epidemic has been a top priority for Attorney General Herring. He and his team continue to attack the problem with a multifaceted approach that includes enforcement, education, prevention, and legislation to encourage reporting of overdoses in progress, expand the availability of naloxone, and expand access to the Prescription Monitoring Program. He has supported federal efforts to improve the availability of treatment and recovery resources and made prescription drug disposal kits available across the Commonwealth. 

As part of this work, Attorney General Herring has focused on accountability for pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors who helped create, prolong, and profit from the opioid crisis in Virginia and around the country. Virginia is expected to receive half a billion dollars from opioid distributors McKesson, AmerisourceBergin, and Cardinal, and opioid manufacturer Johnson & Johnson as a result of Attorney General Herring’s multiyear investigation into the role opioid manufacturers and distributors played in creating and prolonging the opioid crisis in Virginia and across the country. Attorney General Herring has also reached a resolution of his lawsuit against the Sackler family and their company Purdue Pharma, that will make public tens of millions of documents related to their role in the opioid crisis, and require a payment of more than $4.3 billion for prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts in communities across the country. Virginia is expected to receive at least $80 million as its share of the agreement. Additionally, Attorney General Herring has secured $13 million through a settlement with McKinsey and Company for its role in “turbocharging” the opioid crisis. He has also filed suit against Teva/Cephalon for the role it played in creating the opioid epidemic. Additional multistate investigations and legal actions remain ongoing.

Earlier this year, Attorney General Herring's legislation that directs funds secured through these ongoing lawsuits toward opioid abuse prevention, treatment, and recovery, ensuring that the most money possible goes to actually addressing the opioid crisis, was signed into law.

Drug Takeback locations include: