Schuylkill County collected 679 pounds of drugs on April 30 during the 11th National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.
“We did very well in Schuylkill County for the April take-back, as a matter of fact, we had our largest weight,” Schuylkill County Sheriff Joseph Groody said Tuesday.
He said the increased amount can be attributable to three additional police departments participating — Tremont, Minersville and Cass Township — and advertising and increased awareness of the danger of prescription drugs. He was impressed with the amount of drugs collected in the 37 boxes. Drop-offs were completely anonymous.
“I figured it was going to be about 450 pounds,” he said.
The most recent previous totals were 336.5 pounds in 2015 and 235.5 pounds in 2014. A Drug Enforcement agent collected the drugs Monday for disposal.
The drugs collected can help to keep the drugs from those not prescribed them. If you were not able to stop by the various police departments or the courthouse April 30, unwanted or expired prescription drugs can be dropped off at the Orwigsburg Police Department, 209 N. Warren St., and the Schuylkill County Courthouse, 401 N. Second St., Pottsville.
Groody said the prescription drugs can be given to the deputies at the courthouse after going through the metal detectors.
Minersville Police Chief Michael Combs said the police department collected 2 1/4 boxes of drugs.
“I would say the program was a great success,” he said, adding people even started dropping off the drugs Friday before the event.
Groody said in the three surrounding counties — Berks, Northampton and Lehigh — 218 boxes were collected, amounting to 3,439 pounds of drugs with Schuylkill County.
Participating in the take-back and the amount of drugs collected from each of the police departments were: Ashland Police Department, 13.5 pounds; Butler Township Police Department, 9 pounds; Cass Township Police Department, 40 pounds; Frackville Police Department, 40 pounds; Mahanoy City Police Department, 12.5 pounds; Minersville Police Department, 30 pounds; Orwigsburg Police Department, 96.5 pounds; Pine Grove Police Department, 23 pounds; Port Carbon Police Department, 33.5 pounds; Saint Clair Police Department, 6.5 pounds; Schuylkill Haven Police Department, 41 pounds; Shenandoah Police Department, 40 pounds; Tamaqua Police Department, 152 pounds; and Tremont Police Department, 12.5 pounds. The Schuylkill County Sheriff’s Office also participated and collected 129 pounds.
Nationally, the collection effort resulted in the most drugs collected since the effort started. In all, 893,498 pounds of unwanted medication — amounting to about 447 tons — were collected, the Drug Enforcement Agency said. The highest amount previously collected was in the spring of 2014 amounting to 390 tons.
“These results show that more Americans than ever are taking the important step of cleaning out their medicine cabinets and making homes safe from potential prescription drug abuse or theft,” DEA Acting Administrator Chuck Rosenberg said.
“Unwanted, expired or unused prescription medications are often an unintended catalyst for addiction. Take-Back events like these raise awareness of the opioid epidemic and offer the public a safe and anonymous way to help prevent substance abuse,” he said.