Kentuckians drop off over 10K pounds of unneeded prescriptions on drug take back day
Over 10,000 pounds of unneeded prescription drugs in Kentucky were properly disposed of on National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on April 30, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Communities across the country collectively discarded more than 720,000 pounds of unneeded medications at 5,144 collection sites across the country on April 30, according to the DEA. Over 28,000 pounds of unneeded prescriptions were collected across the Louisville Division, which covers Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia.
Tennessee collected the most with 12,384.55 pounds.
“I want to thank everyone across the Louisville Division who supported DEA’s prescription drug take back effort by safely disposing of their expired and unneeded medications,” Todd Scott, special agent in charge of the DEA’s Louisville Division, said in a press release. “At a time when American drug overdose deaths are at record numbers, anything we do to make our communities safer can make a difference.”
Since 2010, the DEA, along with its law enforcement partners, has collected nearly 16 million pounds of unneeded prescription medications.
“National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is an important part of DEA’s efforts to fight the overdose epidemic and save lives,” DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said in a press release. “I encourage everyone across the country to dispose of unneeded medications throughout the year to help keep our communities safe and healthy.”
