East Hartford Police & Health Departments Announce DEA’s Take Back Day
East Hartford, CT - With opioid overdose deaths on the rise, East Hartford Police and the East Hartford Health Department announce the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Take Back Day, scheduled for October 28th, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the East Hartford Public Safety Complex. At its last Take Back Day in April, DEA collected a high amount of expired, unwanted, and unused prescription medications, with the public turning in close to 663,725 lbs. (332 Tons) of unwanted drugs. Over the 10-year span of Take Back Day, DEA has brought in more than 8,650 tons of prescription drugs. Considering the majority of abused prescription drugs come from family and friends, including from home medicine cabinets, clearing out unused medicine is essential.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. has continued to experience an increase in overdose deaths, with well over 106,000 residents overdosing during 2021, the most ever recorded in a 12-month period. This increasing trend in drug overdose deaths, including illicit drugs and prescription opioids, has steadily occurred since 1999, but accelerated significantly during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The public can drop off potentially dangerous prescription medications at the East Hartford Public Safety Complex, 31 School Street, East Hartford. Officials will collect tablets, capsules, patches, and other solid forms of prescription drugs, and will continue to accept vaping devices and cartridges at its drop off locations provided lithium batteries are removed. Liquids (including intravenous solutions), syringes and other sharps and illegal drugs will not be accepted. A public health nurse will be at the Safety Complex from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. to share information about naloxone, commonly known by the brand name Narcan, a life-saving medication used in the event of an opioid overdose. The health department will also be distributing medication disposal kits at no cost. These resources will be available while supplies last.
Helping people dispose of potentially harmful prescription drugs is one of many ways East Hartford Police and East Hartford Health is working to reduce addiction and stem overdose deaths.
Learn more about the disposal of prescription drugs or about the Take Back Day initiative at www.DEATakeBack.com or www.easthartfordct.gov/police-department.