Bentonville, AR – Oct. 27, 2022 – Walmart and Sam’s Club are hosting in-person medication disposal events at select store and club locations across the country on Saturday, Oct. 29, as part of the DEA’s biannual National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. Law enforcement will be set up in the parking lot at the following Walmart or Sam’s Club locations from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Oct. 29 to help the public safely dispose of their unwanted, unused or expired prescription medications.
Walmart Neighborhood Market
820 Beltline Rd.
Cedar Hill, TX
Walmart Supercenter
7451 McCart Ave.
Fort Worth, TX
Sam’s Club
1200 E Spring Creek Pkwy
Plano, TX
Sam’s Club
8621 Ohio Dr.
Plano, TX
Sam’s Club
301 Coit Rd.
Plano, TX
A complete list of DEA Take Back Day location events can be found at: https://takebackday.dea.gov.
“These are ways we can do our part to reduce and potentially eliminate the dangerous misuse and abuse of prescription medications in the communities we serve,” said Lisa Young, Senior Director with Walmart Specialty Compliance and Ethics. “Safe medication disposal is important, and we’re grateful to the organizations that collaborate with us on this impactful effort.”
Walmart also is reminding its pharmacy customers of additional disposal options year-round. As of 2020, more than 1,000 in-pharmacy medication disposal kiosks have been installed in Walmart and Sam’s Club locations nationwide. A complete list of safe medication disposal locations can be found on the DEA’s website at: https://apps2.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubdispsearch/spring/main?execution=e2s1
Returning unused medication is an important step to prevent misuse of prescription medication, especially opioids.
“The overwhelming majority of people who suffer from opioid addiction got started by getting opioids from friends and family,” said C.M. Schade, MD, a Texas Medical Association (TMA) physician leader and past president of the Texas Pain Society (TPS). “Their opioid addiction was not caused by taking opioids that were prescribed to them.”
According to the 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, more than 9 million people aged 12 and above misused prescription pain relievers like hydrocodone, oxycodone, morphine, and prescription fentanyl.
In addition, for those who fill prescriptions for opioid medications, Walmart and Sam’s Club offers an at-home opioid disposal product, DisposeRx, at no cost in all pharmacies nationwide. For more information on Walmart’s Opioid Stewardship efforts, visit www.walmart.com/opioids.
