Earlier this month, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued a nationwide warning about the dangers of fentanyl. According to the DEA, it’s “the most potent opioid available for use in medical treatment – 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine and 30 to 50 times more potent than heroin.”

This is the time of year when take-back programs or days are announced all across the country. There’s a new understanding that old guidelines that urged people to simply flush or throw away their unused medications is no longer the best recommendation, because of the effect on the environment and concerns about drug abuse and safety. Because of these shifting guidelines, drug take-back programs are gaining popularity, but they are not without drawbacks as well.

Prevention is more than dispensing less, it’s about removing the abundant supply of prescription opioids from circulation to prevent abuse and misuse. When it comes to opioids and other powerful — and dangerous — medications, the problems facing the country are well-known.

If you have ever been prescribed a powerful opioid painkiller after surgery or an injury, you may have wondered how to safely dispose of leftover pills. You can’t really flush them down the drain because sewage treatment plants don’t remove those chemicals. That puts them into the water supply. Putting them in the trash can put drugs into unauthorized hands. But you can’t just leave them in the medicine cabinet either, especially if there are at-risk people in your home.

The Minnesota Department of Health announced last week that the number of opioid overdose deaths was down in 2018 — going from 733 deaths in 2017, down to 607, or a 17 percent reduction. Minnesota hospitals and clinics have managed to significantly reduce the number of pain pills being prescribed.