Credit: Erich Martin/NewtownPANow.com
Bucks County collected a record amount of unwanted medication over the weekend.
Bucks County officials told LevittownNow.com that 9,893 pounds of unwanted or unused prescription and over-the-counter drugs was collection through 49 drop off sites last Saturday. In nearby Montgomery County, 7,200 pounds were taken back.
Diane Rosati, executive director of the Bucks County Drug and Alcohol Commission, said approximately 90,000 pounds have been collected since 2010 with a goal of breaking 100,000 pounds during the fall drug take-back event.
The drug take-back event in fall 2016 collected 8,404 pounds.
As of 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the Newtown Borough collection event, there was a steady collection of drugs on par with past years.
“People see the signs and they run home and come back, so you know the signs are working,” said Newtown Borough police Cpl. Jim Warunek, of Newtown Borough.
The take-back days are great for raising awareness about the regular medication drop boxes in police stations, said Dori Dugan, a volunteer for the Council Rock Coalition for Healthy Youth.
“The National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is an important part of the effort to combat the opioid crisis,” Pennsylvania State Police Captain Raymond Singley said last week. “Allowing for the safe, anonymous disposal of prescription drugs helps to ensure that powerful narcotics and other medications do not end up in the wrong hands.”
