NORWICH – With opioid overdose deaths increasing during the pandemic, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced its 20th Take Back Day scheduled for Saturday, April 24.

The public can drop off potentially dangerous prescription medications at the Greene and Sherburne Police Departments from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., which will adhere to local COVID-19 guidelines and regulations in order to maintain the safety of all participants and local law enforcement.

“Unused medications are a public safety issue, leading to an accidental poisoning, overdose and abuse. Pharmaceutical drugs can be just as dangerous as street drugs when taken without a prescription or a doctor's supervision,” said Sheriff's Sgt. Dustin Smietana, one of the officers who participates in the program.

“Medications that are thrown in the trash can be retrieved and abused or illegally sold. Sometime these medications are flushed and can contaminate the water supply. Proper disposal of unused drugs saves lives and protects the environment,” said Smietana.

In October, the DEA collected a record-high total amount of expired, unwanted, and unused prescription medications, with the public turning in close to 500 tons of unwanted drugs.

Participating in that nationwide event local officials collected several hundred pounds of pills and drugs.

Sheriff Ernest R. Cutting said the Oct. 2020 event collected more than 800 pounds of unwanted medication from area residents.

Shortly after the drugs are collected officials transport and destroy the drugs at a central New York incinerator, certified for such disposals.

Cutting said officials would accept donations any time at the sheriff's office and would continue to participate in the collections program, saying they made the community safer.

Over the 10-year span of Take Back Day, DEA has brought in more than 6,800 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 seen an increase in overdose deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic, with 83,544 Americans overdosing during the 12-month period ending July 1, 2020, the most ever recorded in a 12-month period. The increase in drug overdose deaths appeared to begin prior to the COVID-19 health emergency, but accelerated significantly during the first months of the pandemic.

DEA and its partners will collect tablets, capsules, patches, and other solid forms of prescription drugs. Liquids (including intravenous solutions), syringes and other sharps, and illegal drugs will not be accepted. DEA will continue to accept vaping devices and cartridges at its drop off locations provided lithium batteries are removed.

Helping people dispose of potentially harmful prescription drugs is just one way DEA and local Sheriff’s Office is working to reduce addiction and stem overdose deaths. Learn more about the event at www.deatakeback.com, or by calling 800-882-9539.

– Tyler Murphy, Sun Managing Editor