Saturday is the 20th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day and multiple police departments across the Kenai Peninsula are taking part to address the crucial safety and public health issue. Prescription drugs can be dropped off on Saturday, April 24 from 10:00 a.m. through 2:00 p.m. at the Soldotna Police Department, Homer Police Department and the Seward Police Department.
The Drug Enforcement Administration states that 9.7 million people misused prescription pain relievers, 4.9 million people misused prescription stimulants, and 5.9 million people misused prescription tranquilizers or sedatives in 2019. A DEA survey also found that a majority of misused prescription drugs were obtained from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet.
The DEA’s Take Back Day events provide an opportunity for Americans to prevent drug addiction and overdose deaths. Also, no illicit drugs will be accepted at the collection site. Data from the 2020 National Take Back Day in October revealed that 4,153 law enforcement departments participated with 4,587 total collection sites. The total weight collected included 492.7 tons of prescription drugs. The total amount of prescription drugs collected by the DEA since the fall of 2010 is nearly 13.7 million pounds.
More information can be found here.
