Law enforcement, health officials hold drug take-back event - Brattleboro Reformer
BENNINGTON — Law enforcement throughout Bennington and Windham counties and statewide are holding a National Prescription Medication collection event on Saturday. The goal is to collect unused or expired drugs and medications, especially those that can be abused, to ensure they don't end up for sale on the streets.
"The drug overdose epidemic in the United States is a clear and present public health, public safety, and national security threat," said the federal Drug Enforcement Administration on its take-back website. "DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day reflects DEA’s commitment to Americans’ safety and health, encouraging the public to remove unneeded medications from their homes as a measure of preventing medication misuse and opioid addiction from ever starting."
A record 210 Vermonters died from drug overdoses in 2021. Sixteen of them were from Bennington County; 20 lived in Windham County. These two counties had among the highest overdose death rates in the state, well above the statewide figure.
Police departments in Bennington, Manchester and Winhall will coordinate with the Bennington County Sheriff’s, state law enforcement agencies, and the DEA to participate in the national program, which takes place from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
Area drop-off sites — which can be used to dispose of unused medications throughout the year, as well — Manchester Police Department, Winhall Police and Rescue, Bennington County Sheriff’s Department, Bennington Police Department, Southwestern Vermont Medical Center, Green Mountain Pharmacy, The Pharmacy Northshire, and The Pharmacy-Bennington. Disposal at these locations is free and anonymous.
Other drop-off sites include the Wilmington, Dover and Bellows Falls police departments, and the Hinsdale and Winchester, N.H., police departments. Most collection sites can be found in the lobby of your local police department. To find a collection site near you and to learn more, visit www.deatakeback.com or call 1-800-882-9539.
Greater Falls Connections and the Bellows Falls Police Department will be hosting its "Bike to the Box" event for National Take Back Day on Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. There will be games and chalk art hosted by Friends for Change, and Community Liaison Officer Thaddeus Buckley will clock biking speed. Community members are invited to dispose of any unused, expired or unwanted pills or patches using the Rx Drug Drop Box located in the BFPD lobby.
The national event, which takes place every spring and fall, is a way to highlight the take-back options for residents, as well as the dangers posed by these medications. According to the Vermont Department of Health, nearly half of the people who misused pain prescriptions obtained them from a relative or friend.
“We are proud that every day is a take-back day at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center and many other locations,” said Virginia Ritchie, Administrative Assistant to the Chief Medical Officer in a news release. Ritchie, who leads the Medsafe collection project at SVMC, added, “We hope our community members will take this opportunity to look through their medicine cabinets and dispose of medications that could cause harm to others.”
Safely disposing medications at a take-back location gives the public an opportunity to prevent prescription medication abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous, expired, unused prescriptions. Liquids and sharps are not accepted.
Bennington County was the first county in Vermont with permanent take-back boxes thanks to the collaboration of local partners with a shared goal of a healthier Bennington County. This ongoing service is supported by local substance prevention organizations: The Collaborative and ACT, Vermont Department of Health and law enforcement agencies.
Lt. Camillo Grande of the Bennington Police Department in a press release reminded "everyone to participate in this event to safely dispose of unneeded medication. Just in the first quarter of 2022, Bennington Police collected 270 pounds of medication.”
Since the 2017 inception of the SVMC take back program, Bennington County residents have disposed of 42 boxes containing over 2,203 pounds of medications at that location.
Nationally, at the last take-back event in October 2021, more than 4,000 law enforcement organizations participated, with nearly 5,000 collection sites available. In all, 372 tons (744,082 pounds) of medications were collected.
Collection take-back kiosks are supported in part by the Bennington County Regional Prevention Partnerships and by The Collaborative, a coalition of prevention partners and law enforcement working together to reduce prescription drug abuse and underage drinking. The Collaborative, an area nonprofit promotes the development of a healthy involved community supporting substance free youth in a caring environment.
For more information about Drug Take-Back Day, visit dea.gov or call your local law enforcement agency. For more information about local drug abuse prevention programs, visit thecollaborative.us.
Since 1999, The Collaborative has served Bennington County, Western Windham and Southern Windsor Counties. The direct service area includes 18 towns encompassing the Northshire and mountain towns and nine schools, focusing on promoting healthy communities and substance free youth through education, programming, environmental strategies and policy development.
source: https://www.reformer.com/law-enforcement-health-officials-hold-drug-take-back-event/article_a190e22a-c3fa-11ec-97d9-1b5dfb781578.html
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