On October 6, 2014, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) expanded the list of entities that may take back controlled-substance medications from households. Pharmacies and clinics, along with a few other locations, can now take back medications from customers for destruction.
This is brand new, as the practice was strictly forbidden for many years by the DEA due to the concern that these drugs, instead of being destroyed, could go back to customers for abuse or reuse. The new rule allows reverse distributorships to take back drugs, something they have been authorized to do for decades, primarily from pharmaceutical companies that have large amounts of outdated or contaminated controlled substances for destruction. [Read more…]