44 Tons of Prescription Drugs Collected in New England During 15th Annual Prescription Drug Take-Back Day

(BOSTON) – The final tally is in from the 15^th National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on April 28^th, 2018.  The Drug Enforcement Administration’s New England Field Division (NEFD) and its partners, over the course of four hours, collected 88,182.07 pounds or 44 tons of expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs at 580 collection sites throughout New England.  This is in comparison to the first National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on September 2010, when the NEFD collected 25,810 pounds of unwanted drugs.  It is estimated that 10% of the drugs collected are opioid pain killers which would represent approximately 8,818 pounds of opioids that are out of medicine cabinets and potentially off our streets.

In Rhode Island, more than 3,340 lbs. were collected from over 140 drop boxes located across the state.

“Another amazing effort by New Englanders to continue to make their homes safer for our youth,” said DEA Acting Special Agent in Charge Albert Angelucci.  “Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse.  DEA thanks the citizens of New England and our dedicated Law Enforcement partners for their efforts in making this initiative a success.”

“Rhode Islanders deposited a significant amount of unwanted, unused and expired prescription drugs into more than 140 drop-boxes across the state,” noted United States Attorney Stephen G. Dambruch. “Proper disposal is a simple yet significant step in preventing prescription medications from being abused. I thank all our law enforcement partners for their commitment to this very important initiative.”

The following is a breakdown of collected weights for the six New England States:

CT             8,251.6 lbs.

MA          27,126.1 lbs.

ME           28,560 lbs.

NH            14,895 lbs.

RI              3,341.5 lbs.

VT             6,007.87 lbs. 

TOTAL    88,182.07 lbs.