“The drug overdose epidemic in the United States is a clear and present public health, public safety, and national security threat. DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day reflects DEA’s commitment to Americans’ safety and health, encouraging the public to remove unneeded medications from their homes as a measure of preventing medication misuse and opioid addiction from ever starting.

“DEA is committed to making our communities safer and healthier, and we can do this by reducing overdoses and overdose deaths. While the community does its part to turn in unneeded medications and remove them from potential harm, we are doing our part to further reduce drug-related violence.

“On this webpage are resources to help you dispose of unneeded medications in your home, seek substance abuse treatment and learn more about the drug overdose epidemic in the United States.”

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day

Key Stats

Source: 2021 American Community Survey (ACS), 1-year estimates.

Table B24124, Detailed Occupation for the Full-Time, Year-Round Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and Over

Note: The table above from <data.census.gov> is cropped and “Pharmacists” is highlighted. Click on the table for more than 560 rows of occupations including pharmacy technicians (256,901), pharmacy aides (24,176), substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors (95,929), and mental health and substance abuse social workers (25,257).

More Stats

Source: 2004-2023 Quarterly Services Survey (QSS).

6214: Outpatient Care Centers - Taxable: U.S. Total - Total Revenue

6222: Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals: U.S. Total - Total Revenue

623: Nursing and Residential Care Facilities: U.S. Total - Total Revenue

Source: 1992-2023 Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders (M3) Survey.

Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing: U.S. Total — Value of Shipments

Source: 1992-2023 Monthly Retail Trade and Food Services Report.

44611: Pharmacies and Drug Stores: U.S. Total — Sales — Monthly

Source: 1992-2023 Monthly Wholesale Trade Survey.

4242: Drugs and Druggists' Sundries: U.S. Total — Sales — Monthly

Source: 2000-2023 Quarterly Financial Report (QFR).

Pharmaceuticals and Medicines: U.S. Total — Income (Loss) After Income Taxes

From Business and Economy > International Trade Data:

USA Trade Online — The Official Source of Trade Statistics

After you create an account, select options for Harmonized System (HS) or HS, select Exports or Imports, type DRUG or PHARMACEUTICAL in the Commodity search box, then select options for geography and time. Select “Report” for data. More information can be found in the Quick Start Guide.

Source: 1992-2021 Annual Retail Trade Survey (ARTS).

Estimated Annual Sales of U.S. Retail and Food Services Firms by Kind of Business: 1992-2021, see NAICS 44611 Pharmacies and Drug Stores [<1.0 MB]

Source: 2018-2021 Annual Survey of Manufactures (ASM).

Table AM1831BASIC01, Annual Survey of Manufactures: Summary Statistics for Industry Groups and Industries in the U.S.: 2018 - 2021, showing NAICS 3254 Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing

Source: 1978-2020 Business Dynamics Statistics (BDS).

Table BDSEAGE, Business Dynamics Statistics: Establishment Age: 1978-2020, showing 5 Codes

Source: 2020 County Business Patterns (CBP).

Table CB2000CBP, All Sectors: County Business Patterns, including ZIP Code Business Patterns, by Legal Form of Organization and Employment Size Class for U.S., States, and Selected Geographies: 2020, showing the 6 Codes below:

NAICS 3254, Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing
NAICS 4242, Drugs and Druggists' Sundries Merchant Wholesalers
NAICS 44611, Pharmacies and Drug Stores
NAICS 62142, Outpatient Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers
NAICS 62221, Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals
NAICS 62322, Residential Mental Health and Substance Abuse Facilities

Source: 2020 Annual Business Survey (ABS) Program.

Table AB2000CSA01, Annual Business Survey: Statistics for Employer Firms by Industry, Sex, Ethnicity, Race, and Veteran Status for the U.S., States, and Metro Areas: 2020, showing 5 Codes

Source: 2013 and 2015 to 2019 Service Annual Survey (SAS). Each table below provides at least one of these 3 NAICS Codes:

NAICS 62142, Outpatient Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers
NAICS 62221, Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals
NAICS 62322, Residential Mental Health and Substance Abuse Facilities

Table 2: Estimated Revenue by Tax Status for Employer Firms: 2013 through 2019 [<1.0 MB]

Table 3: Estimated Expense for Employer Firms: 2013 through 2019 [<1.0 MB]

Table 4: Estimated Sources of Revenue for Employer Firms: 2013 through 2019 [<1.0 MB]

Table 11. Estimated Patient Visits for Employer Firms: 2015 Through 2019 [<1.0 MB]

Table 12. Estimated Electronic Health Record Systems Expenses for Employer Firms: 2015 Through 2019 [<1.0 MB]

Table 13. Estimated Inpatient Days, Outpatient Visits, Inpatient Revenue, and Outpatient Revenue for Employer Firms: 2015 Through 2019 [<1.0 MB]

Source: 2019 Nonemployer Statistics (NES).

Table NS1900NONEMP, All Sectors: Nonemployer Statistics for the U.S., States, Counties, Metropolitan Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas; and by Legal Form of Organization and Sales, Value of Shipments, or Revenue Size for Selected Geographies: 2019, showing these 3 Codes:

NAICS 3254, Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing
NAICS 4242, Drugs and Druggists' Sundries Merchant Wholesalers
NAICS 44611, Pharmacies and Drug Stores

Source: 2017 Economic Census.

Table EC1700BASIC, All Sectors: Summary Statistics for the U.S., States, and Selected Geographies: 2017, showing 5 Codes

Outside Links

American College of Clinical Pharmacy

American Pharmacists Association

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Pharmacist Center

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), DEA National RX Take Back Day

National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, Your resource for safe pharmacy

National Association of Chain Drug Stores

U.S. Food & Drug Administration, Disposal of Unused Medicines: What You Should Know

Page Last Revised - April 17, 2023

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