Newtown Police Participate in National Drug Take Back Day

NEWTOWN, CT --- The Newtown PD will be hosting a Prescription Drug Take Back Day event on Saturday, April 28. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., officers will be collecting any medications that residents would like to safely discard.

The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day was created by the DEA to address the abuse of prescription drugs. According to the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 6.4 million Americans abused controlled prescription drugs. The study shows that a majority of abused prescription drugs were obtained from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet.

At the last DEA-sponsored Take Back Day in October, 5,814 pounds of drugs were collected at 52 sites managed by 53 law enforcement organizations in Connecticut. Around 456 tons of medications were collected nationwide.