Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital will serve as a collection point for unwanted prescription medications during National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, April 30, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Santa Clarita Valley residents can drop off unwanted medications outside the main hospital building–no questions asked. The annual event is a Drug Enforcement Agency, or DEA, initiative.

In conjunction with ACTION Family Foundation, KHTS, Santa Clarita Valley Gazette and law enforcement, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital has participated in this national event for the past several years.

In September 2015, more than 3,800 federal, state and local counterparts took in more than 702,365 pounds of unused, expired or unwanted drugs at more than 5,000 collection sites across the United States as part of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day Initiative. or NTBI. since it began in 2010; cumulatively, these events have collected 5,525,021 pounds of drugs.

“The numbers are shocking—approximately 46,000 Americans die each year from drug-related deaths. More than half of those are from heroin and prescription opioids,” said Acting DEA Administrator Chuck Rosenberg. “With four out of five new heroin users starting with prescription medications, I know our take-back program makes a real difference.”

The NTBI addresses a crucial public safety and public health issue. According to the 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 6.5 million Americans abused controlled prescription drugs. That same study showed that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.

In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards.

For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs, go to the DEA Office of Diversion Control website.