East Hartford Police & Health Departments Announce DEA Drug Take Back Day
East Hartford, CT- The East Hartford Police and the East Hartford Health Department announce the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Take Back Day is scheduled for Saturday, April 22nd, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the East Hartford Public Safety Complex, 31 School Street, East Hartford.
The Health Department will also be providing residents with free COVID-19 test kits, Deterra pouches, and Narcan® (naloxone) kits at Drug Take Back Day. Residents will learn about:
- Signs of an overdose
- Overdose response
- How and when to administer Narcan®
Supplies are limited and all kits will be available on a first come, first serve basis. One kit each per household. For more information about how to prevent, treat, and report an opioid overdose, and your legal protections, download the NORA app. For questions about Narcan® or to speak with a public health nurse, please contact the Health Department at 860-291-7324.
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 360 tons of unwanted drugs. Over the 10-year span of Take Back Day, DEA has brought in more than 7,995 tons of prescription drugs. With studies indicating a 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 more than 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 opioid, 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.
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.