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The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is teaming up with Rio Grande Valley law enforcement officials to get prescriptions drugs away from the hands of children.

Their goal is to keep unused prescription drugs off cabinet shelves to decrease drug abuse.

According to the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, Americans currently abuse prescription drugs more than cocaine, heroin, and hallucinogens combined.

Will Glaspy with the DEA’s office in McAllen told Action 4 News that these statistics are due to the easy access to prescription drugs.

For some some children, it's as easy as opening their parents’ medicine cabinet.

"Because of where we are located in the Rio Grande Valley we are a transshipment point of drugs coming from Mexico and we are more focused on that, but what people don't realize is that prescription drugs is the second most abused drugs behind marijuana,” Glaspy said.

Purging home medicine cabinets is just one of the ways you can reduce prescription drug abuse.

Other strategies include education-monitoring programs and increased enforcement.

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is on Saturday, October 29th from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm.

Collection Sites will be set up at the following locations in the Rio Grande Valley:

• Lack’s Furniture Store                        2500 E. U.S. Highway 83                   Rio Grande City
• Junior’s Grocery Store                        190 West Main Ave.                           Alton
• Foy’s Grocery Store                            500 South Conway                             Mission
• Mission Fire Department                    1200 N. Shary Road                           Mission
• McAllen City Hall                              1300 Houston Ave.                             McAllen
• Lowe’s Home Improvement               5700 N. 10th St.                                   McAllen
• Edinburg Police Department              1702 Closner                                       Edinburg
• University of Texas PanAm                1201 W. University Dr.                      Edinburg
• Pharr City Hall                                    118 S. Cage St.                                   Pharr
• Junior’s Grocery Store                        6501 S. Cage St.                                 Pharr
• Lowe’s Home Improvement               1015 E. Expressway 83                      Weslaco
• Valle Vista Mall                                  2020 S. Expressway 83                       Harlingen
• Sunrise Mall                                        2370 N. Expressway                           Brownsville

For more details and locations, go to:

http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/index.html