04/21/2026
๐๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฅ๐จ๐จ๐ค๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ค๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ง ๐ฌ๐๐ซ๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง.
Under the leadership of Lions Clubs International First Vice President Mark Lyon, alongside Past International Presidents Brian Sheehan, and Frank J. Moore III, LionsUSA has officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Drug Enforcement Administration - DEA.
๐๐ก๐๐ญโ๐ฌ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐. ๐๐ก๐๐ญโ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐๐ญ.
Back in January, members of the steering committee sat down at DEA Headquarters with Administrator Terry Cole and his team to talk about one thing:
๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐จ ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ฌ, ๐ญ๐จ๐ ๐๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ?
And the answer is simple, scalable, and something every single Lions Club in the country can be part of:
๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ฉ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ซ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐๐ค๐ ๐๐๐๐ค ๐๐๐ฒ.
Right now, Lions on the ground are already making this real.
Michael Perry McCline from the Wilmington United Youth Coalition and Jessica Graham Elkins with the Planet Youth Coalition have been organizing and supporting Take Back efforts in their communities following the model established by the Southern New Castle County Communities Coalition, bringing together coalitions, law enforcement, and local leaders to make it happen.
At the same time, Lions Tim Kershner from Ohio and Chris Wooters from Maryland have been building tools for you, state-specific flyers you can grab and share immediately to promote the Drug Take Back Day this Saturday April 26th.
๐๐๐ซ๐โ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก:
Over 100,000 Americans die every year from drug overdoses.
A large number of those involve prescription medications sitting in homes, unused, forgotten, or misused.
Think about that.
๐๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ญโ๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ข๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ญ.
And hereโs the part that matters most:
๐๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฆ๐๐ค๐ ๐๐ง ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐๐ญ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐ฌ๐๐.
No long-term commitment
No major funding required
No complex logistics
Just show up. Share. Promote. Participate.
๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐ฌ:
Local law enforcement agencies host the sites
Community members drop off unused or expired medications
No questions asked
Everything is handled safely and responsibly
Thatโs it.
Right now, flyers have already been created for Maryland, Delaware, and Washington, D.C., with all 50 states in progress.
If your state is not ready yet, reach out to Lion Chris Wooters and get one made.
If your community does not have a Take Back event yet, connect with leaders like Michael McLine and Jessica Graham Elkins and start planning for the next one.
๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฒ:
๐๐จ๐งโ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐๐ข๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐๐ญ.
You can save lives right now by doing one simple thing:
Share the flyer
Talk about it
Raise awareness
Thatโs how movements start.
Thatโs how communities change.
Thatโs how lives are saved.
When you post, use the DEA hashtags so we amplify this together:
๐๐๐ญโ๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ง ๐๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐๐๐.
