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- By Elyse Wild
The Drug Enforcement Administration is collaborating with U.S. District Attorney's Offices across the country to organize National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on October 25, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at collection sites throughout the state, including locations on Native American reservations.
According to a 2023 study by the Montana Office of Public Instruction, 17% of Native American high school students report using prescription medication without a prescription.
While Americans of all races and ethnicities have been affected by the opioid crisis, the crisis is especially prevalent in Indian Country. Native Americans have the highest rate of drug-overdose deaths of any ethnic group. It reached 65.2 per 100,000 people in 2022, 15% more than in 2021, according to CDC data. While 2024 saw the largest decrease in overdoses among the general population, they remain high among AI/AN.
Prescription medications left sitting in medicine cabinets can pose a risk for misuse and abuse, contributing to alarmingly high rates of prescription drug abuse nationwide, as well as accidental poisonings and overdoses.
According to a 2024 review of drug takeback programs in the U.S.,
During the last Take Back Day event held on April 26, 2025, Americans turned in 620,321 pounds—310 tons—of drugs at 4,590 collection sites nationwide. The program has collected a total of 19.8 million pounds, or more than 9,910 tons, of prescription drugs throughout its history.
To find a location for Drug Take Back Day in your tribal community, click here.
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