Columbia, South Carolina — The opioid epidemic clawing through the Carolinas gets another punch to the gut this Saturday as the Drug Enforcement Administration launches its 17th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. U.S. Attorney Sherri A. Lydon is calling on every household to purge their medicine cabinets of unused, expired, or unwanted prescription drugs—especially opioids—before they end up in the wrong hands. From 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., 66 collection sites across South Carolina will open for one mission: stop pills from turning into poison.
Lydon didn’t mince words: opioid fatalities in South Carolina exploded by 700% between 2002 and 2017. ‘Working together, we can break the vicious cycle of drug abuse, addiction, and overdose that has devastated countless families across our state,’ she said. This event isn’t charity—it’s triage. Every pill dropped in a collection bin is one less chance for a teenager to steal a painkiller from a parent’s cabinet or for a visitor to pocket a deadly dose.
Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division, called the abuse of prescription pharmaceuticals one of the agency’s top priorities. ‘DEA and its law enforcement, tribal, and community partners are holding its seventeenth take-back event in order to child proof and teen proof homes,’ Murphy said. He stressed this isn’t a symbolic gesture—it’s a frontline defense in a war where enemies wear no uniform, just the quiet allure of easy access.
Last October, South Carolinians turned in 7,526 pounds of expired or unused meds. Nationwide, DEA and its partners have hauled in over 11 million pounds—more than 5,400 tons—of pills over 16 previous events. The service is free. It’s anonymous. No questions asked. But there are rules: only pills or patches. No liquids. No needles. No sharps. Flushing or trashing meds isn’t disposal—it’s dumping a time bomb down the drain.
The numbers scream urgency. The CDC reports 91 Americans die daily from opioid overdoses. Studies confirm most abused prescription drugs are lifted straight from home medicine cabinets. And the path from prescription painkillers to heroin is well-trodden: four out of five new heroin users started with legal pills. This isn’t speculation—it’s autopsy data, hospital logs, shattered families.
Saturday’s event isn’t about redemption. It’s about prevention. It’s about stopping the next overdose before it starts. To find a collection site near you, visit takebackday.dea.gov. Bring your pills. Leave your guilt. Just get them off the shelf and out of reach—because the deadliest drug dealer in any home might not be a dealer at all. He might be the guy who never threw out his back surgery prescription.
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Key Facts
- State: South Carolina
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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