KILLEEN, TX — Friday marked National Clean Out Your Medicine Cabinet Day.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, each day, more than 130 people in the U.S. die after overdosing on opioids.
The study from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration said, at least 50 percent of people age 12 or older who misused prescription pain relievers in 2013 and 2014, reported that they obtained the pain relievers from a friend or relative.
In an effort to combat the abuse of opioids and other prescription drugs, people are encouraged to clear their homes of medications that are no longer being used that have the potential to be abused by family members, friends or visitors.
"The first avenue should be always bringing it in to a disposal site. If you can not bring it to the disposal site then do the Ziploc baggie or in the case of opioids they do actually it's on what they call a flush list they do recommend to dispose of it before somebody else gets to it," said Beika Zheng, pharmacist at AdventHealth Central.
If you have medications that need to be disposed, many CVS Pharmacies have prescription drug drop off bins.
In addition, on April 27, police departments across Central Texas will participate in a National Prescription Drug Take-Back Initiative.
