Branford Finds Success with Residents Getting Rid of Unwanted Prescription Drugs

by Jack Kramer, Patch Correspondent

BRANFORD, CT – One good thing has come out of the opioid crisis that has gripped towns, including Branford, in the state of Connecticut is that programs encouraging residents to return unwanted prescription drugs to police departments are working like never before.

Branford and thousands of towns across the country, including many in Connecticut, opened up their police departments one Saturday recently, to citizens wanting to dispose of unneeded prescription drugs.

Many of those departments continue to keep displays open in their police stations, still allowing residents to drop off unwanted medications each and every day.

“It’s difficult to say whether better publicity or a greater response from the community based on the epidemic is the cause for the increase in prescription drugs being turned in for proper disposal,” said Branford Police Captain Geoffrey Morgan.

The National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means for disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications.

In 2015, there were 697 opioid-involved deaths in the state of Connecticut.

At a recent session on drug abuse at Kennedy High School in Waterbury, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Dayton told the audience Connecticut is tracking a record 888 overdose deaths for the entire 2016 calendar year.